Growing up on the Cape Flats was not easy, but it was never going to hold back Shirley Zinn. This multi award winning business professional with a doctorate in education and on the board of several top companies has written about her journey in a best selling book entitled Swimming Upstream. She was recently invited to be the guest speaker on the popular Hirsch’s virtual Entrepreneurs Workshop with hosts: Executive Director of Hirsch’s Homestores, Margaret Hirsch, and award winning Business Coach, Marlene Powell. The Workshops are the brainchild of the Get U Noticed team.
Dr. Zinn, who runs her own Consulting company providing consulting and advisory services in HR, Transformation, Leadership and Education, is the former Group Head of Human Resources at Woolworths and former Deputy Global Head of Human Resources for the Standard Bank Group. She said that the massive pool of incredible talent in places like the Cape Flats was totally untapped. “If it hadn’t been for my parents gentle guidance and solid set of values, I could have stayed exactly where I was. Their sound advice of telling me to get up when I was down, do everything to the best of my ability, find ways to serve others and be conscious all the time of the importance of gratitude and discipline – set me in the right direction. I am also grateful for the advice from my lecturer at Western Cape university who told me that I had the potential to become a Harvard graduate – where I eventually got my doctorate.”
Shirley pointed out the importance of continuous learning in the journey of swimming up stream. She has always had more than one job, hence the reason she has managed to juggle being on several boards and also run her consultancy business. “Partnerships are also very valuable and you need to surround yourself with people who uplift you. Remember that sometimes things that seem impossible ARE possible. Optimism is so important right now. It’s a fact that entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the economy. Keep growing and thriving and don’t give up! It is wonderful to have platforms like this that nurture the entrepreneurial spirit!” She said.
Join Margaret and Marlene next Friday – October 29 – between 11 and 12 when they will be joined by Labo Nkuku a Project Management Professional. She is the founder of Labo World, a company that offer results driven project management solutions. Labo is the current President of Project Management South Africa (PMSA) – KZN Branch. She runs a South African community-based Meetup called The Leadership Square. She will be speaking on the importance of project management to your business strategy. Follow this link: Follow this link to join: http://bit.ly/2MbtT28