The Athena Doctrine

The Athena Doctrineby John Gerzema & Michael D'AntonioThis book is a fascinating exploration of how feminine values are changing the world.  The main author, John Gerzema, manages the largest survey panel in the world, Brand Asset(R) Valuator, which has conducted studies on more than 1.5 million people and 51 thousand companies in 50 counties since 1993.  The goal of this book was to discover if people might be placing more value on feminine qualities due to the economy, technology, generational influences, globalization, or other factors.  A survey was created for 64,000 people to mirror 65% of the world's GNP in thirteen counties: Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Questions were asked to understand how people felt about the times were living in, the quality of life in their country,  the state of leadership, and what impact masculine and feminine behaviors and traits had on it. Did you know surprisingly 66% of people agree that the world would be a better place if men thought more like women and 63% of men agree!  The key to success in today's world appears to be more about mastering the feminine qualities such as connectedness, humility, candor, patience, empathy, trustworthiness, openness,  flexibility, vulnerability and balance. The stories in this book inspirationally demonstrates how the most promising innovators around the world are utilizing feminine traits and values to make their lives and the world better with examples ranging from how Iceland got out of its financial crisis with 40% of the women in parliament by using a concept called "electronic democracy" to Japan's Yamaguchi's fashion empire that focused on making stylish and mid-priced bags in Bangladesh by paying the workers above the standard low wages. Feminine values are the operating system of the 21st Century progress and if you want to be part of the progress, you need to read this book!