WARM TOAST FOR WORKING MOMS. This week Bob serves up some thoughts on the moms who work at Shamrock.

There are certain pictures of Mother's Day seared into our brains from watching TV, seeing magazine ads and hearing stories throughout our lives. Breakfast in bed for mom on Mother's Day.  Many of us probably attempted it once or twice before realizing what a mess it is to make mom breakfast in bed.

But that doesn't prevent me from raising a huge cup of coffee on this upcoming Mother's Day to toast every mom who works at Shamrock.  Like most companies in recent years, Shamrock has been through a number of rough patches. But we've come out stronger than ever. It's because of the women of Shamrock, who are the bedrock of our company, that we've continued to thrive. They work here, and raise a family at home, and manage to make it look easy.

Today, women are overtaking what used to be traditional jobs performed by men, including meeting and convention planners, HR managers, education administrators, medical scientists, advertising and promotions managers.  All of these professions have one thing in common -- people skills. I've noticed that most women work hard to cultivate the skills to survive, and to succeed, at work.  Maybe because they had to work harder for acceptance, or maybe it's because women learn early on how to use their skills as nurturers to achieve success.

In this business the most successful people have been women. Why? First, I would say that 50% of the women who work here have to work, whether it's to meet their personal needs or to help feed their family; so they work hard. Second, I've noticed that the women at Shamrock work harder, smarter, and are more detail-oriented than their male counterparts. Third, I've noticed that, generally, women who are moms don't bring their problems to work. They seem better able to compartmentalize their home life from their work life. Even though they are often the "go-to" parent at home.

Balancing home vs. work is a hard job for any working parent and I have incredible admiration for the women at Shamrock who do it with such grace and resilience.

ONE LAST THING...  Even before reading a recent article in Time Magazine (March 26, 2012) "Women, Money and Power", I believed that today's working wives and mothers deserve our admiration. The magazine story just confirmed it. It states that, "...within a generation, a majority of wives will out earn their husbands, and that right now women contribute 44% towards family income, an increase of 5% from 1998.” My advice? This Mother's Day, show some additional love for mom, not only because she wields a heck of a lot of power, but because she does it so well.