Julie Gilbert
Julie Gilbert, former senior vice-president of Best Buy
You can read more about Julie Gilbert who was featured in Issue 1 of The Royal Neighbor magazine.
Julie Gilbert heads a thriving business called WOLF Means Business that combines business strategy with a strong belief in people and a passion for the possible. Her innovative ideas help grow businesses and inspire individuals to contribute more to their jobs, communities, others, and themselves.
Julie’s leadership style
I get energy by bringing as many people as possible into the vision I’ve created and making the vision big enough that it’s all-inclusive for people to create growth in business and within themselves.
As an example: At one point in my career, I had to create one of five project teams. I didn’t have an assistant to help, and I didn’t have an executive title to use to encourage participation.
So I positioned myself at the company coffee shop and engaged people for two days. I asked about their passions and what they liked to do. If they were a fit for the team, I invited them to join. As a result, I had people who were unbelievably passionate because they got to do what they loved to do every single day as a member of my team.
Their quality of work was off the charts and we were one of the most successful teams.
Julie’s success
I’ve been successful because, being raised by two entrepreneurial parents, I was taught very early that finance is the language of business. I learned how to build a business, what a profit and loss statement is and what a balance sheet looks like. I know that business is about building and nurturing relationships, a good work ethic, and understanding finance.
I started out as a CPA. That gave me a good foundation about finance that has been a powerful asset because it gave me the confidence to talk about financial issues that put me on par with my male colleagues.
WOLF Means Business
We are a consulting firm that helps transform businesses to better serve women. We work with companies and map out the strategy of the potential gain they could achieve by focusing on the female consumer. In almost every case, companies can potentially achieve billions of dollars in revenue.
Female employees at all levels work with female consumers to reinvent companies from the outside in and inside out. These women come up with some phenomenal ideas for new products and services.
Giving back plays a large role in our business, too. We try to inspire people to feel better about themselves and know they are valued and they matter. This empowers them to change their lives.
We are passionate about changing the world with women because women not only change the world for themselves, but for their children, husbands, and communities.
We also use our resources to build awareness of breast cancer and domestic violence, which affect women so critically.
How women can make their mark in the world
Have confidence in yourselves and take others with you. Realize that you have so much to give, support each other, and give back. We’re all in this together. We have an obligation to do better, stand up and lead, and step up to the podium and make it happen.
