Start professional activity the future president of the best business school in the country was, in a sense, programmed. Following in the footsteps of all the members of his family who worked at the Ufa Aviation Plant, Andrei Sharonov graduated from a mathematical class and entered the Aviation Institute.

At the age of 19, thanks to work in the Komsomol and construction teams, the first skills came public figure: the need to negotiate, convince and convey one's position quickly develops the now notorious emotional intelligence.

Having given the Komsomol several years, Sharonov continued his career development along the line of "youth affairs" further, reaching the position of the first person of the corresponding State Committee of the Russian Federation. Developed a new conceptual approach to the formation of the state youth policy in the transitional society of the 90s.

Now he would probably be called an "ombundsman", but it is obvious that long before SKOLKOVO, Andrei Vladimirovich was interested in the careers and fates of young specialists.

This was followed by 11 years in the Ministry of Economic Development under 4 ministers - from the team of Yevgeny Yasin to great luck and work with German Gref. It was he who set the future head of business education high standards of professional standards, the appropriate level of ambition and the scale of thinking.

Having reached the status of “minister without 5 minutes”, Sharonov, at the age of 43, suddenly leaves for the real sector of the economy - for Troika Dialog as a managing director. The abrupt change of side of the barricades became a real cold shower - a lot of things started almost anew. Having changed the civil service to work in a service organization, he had to learn the eccentricity of business moves and the speed of reaction to ongoing events.

But it gave a comprehensive understanding of economic processes as such: if it is possible to go back and forth from government to business, it is useful to complete the picture, the former deputy minister himself believes.

By the way, since then it has become a habit for him to save his time and leave projects and functionality that have ceased to drive and be interesting.

Time at Troika taught me how to work with the staff piece by piece: to convey my expectations, to hear the needs, to manage people's motivation. The Nordic character began to acquire poise and attentiveness, which, coupled with irony and a tenacious look, turn Andrei Vladimirovich into an incredibly charismatic leader.

In 2009, he received the Aristos award in the Independent Director nomination, and the list of companies where he was or still is on the board takes several lines from the most famous names: Russian Railways, Sheremetyevo International Airport, Mostotrest, RAO UES, Transneft, RVC, Inter RAO UES, RusHydro, Aeroflot, VTB, Bank of Moscow... and that's not all.

With complete attention different areas, Andrey Vladimirovich, first of all, as the main value, brings his understanding of the general things of the enterprise's economy to a combination of people with industry expertise, which gives rise to more balanced decisions of the collective mind.

At the same time, he himself is calm about regalia, awards, status signs: “If vanity is the engine, then I am against such vanity, which is based on artificial attributes that allow you to evaluate a person only externally ... If a person cannot wear something on his hand worth less than $10,000, it tells me that he probably does not have any other qualities that he could be proud of.

Having become “one of the strangers” in 3 years, Sharonov receives a new challenge, now from Mayor Sobyanin - and in 2010 he agrees to become his deputy for economic policy, tempted by the scope of the tasks set.

Another 3 years in the civil service, and a new appointment - Ruben Vardanyan again called his former colleague under his banner, and the SKOLKOVO business school found a new rector.

Another super goal and new round building a dialogue between entrepreneurship and government. It is curious that, having perceived a new project for himself primarily as a social one, Sharonov got the opportunity not only to create a “bubble of common sense in society”, but also to actively compensate for his lack of a systematic business education.

Now he has at his disposal the best international professors, interesting students, regular modules at other world-famous schools, and new archaic tasks.

Andrei Vladimirovich loves sports, especially football, and has categories in athletics and swimming. His morning workouts are known to all students and are recommended for visiting.

Sharonov's method: always play for a long time, don't try to solve issues momentarily, but don't get stuck in comfort and change the field of activity every 5-7 years, continuing to move and personal growth. I wonder what will be next?

We appeal to readers - are they interested in such a topic?
We would like to write about women's businesses, about working moms, oh positive examples work-child combinations.

And motherhood, and capital.

In Russia, the attitude towards working mothers is ambiguous. Women themselves often feel guilty about leaving a child with a nanny or in the garden, and society condemns those who devote a lot of time to work. According to VTsIOM data, 81% of Russian women believe that it is very difficult to take care of a family and make a career at the same time. Psychologists talk about the “bad mother” complex: she is constantly tormented by remorse because she does not give her child enough time. Before us are the stories of three women who did not make a choice between family or work, but found a balance between profession, creativity, children and family.

Olga Sorokina, Partner at AGA Management, Head of International Legal Practice,7 children

A family rushes into an expensive Moscow restaurant, where porters open the doors to guests, noisily - a two-year-old girl is in her arms, dad walks by the hand with two sons, followed by two more guys and two girls. The family went out for a traditional Sunday brunch.

Sunday is a special day for Olga Sorokina: no work, all the time is devoted to children - breakfast, attractions, joint trips, guests. And now Olga first of all orders breakfast for the elders, and with junior goes into the playroom, where three-year-old Arthur, five-year-old Mark and little Eva immediately rush to play with the clown. Today Olga is just a young mother of many children, and tomorrow she will go back to the office. Olga Sorokina is a partner and head of the international legal practice of AGA Management, a leading company in the field of legal and tax consulting, where she supports complex international transactions for the purchase and sale of assets, manages projects in the mining industry, metallurgy, retail, development, implementing transactions in hundreds of millions of dollars.

In Sorokina's resume, behind every line about professional growth, a new leadership position, there is a phrase about the birth of a new child. Olga gave birth to her first daughter at the age of 18, while still studying at a university in the USA. At the age of 24, at the time of receiving her diploma with honors from Moscow State Law Academy, Olga already had four children, three foreign languages, experience in consulting in the field of international law, including in Europe, and job offers from leading Western companies and banks. For several years, Olga was engaged in tax planning and structuring of private assets for wealthy individuals, and after the birth of her fifth child, changes began. Olga broke up with her husband and changed jobs, taking a leadership position at AGA Management. Then there was a second marriage, from which Olga had two more children - and so at the age of 34 she turned out to be a successful head of the company and the mother of seven children.

Moreover, it seems that she herself is still surprised at this: “I remember that at the age of 16 I wanted one child, a boy, and I saw my life in an active, interesting work”, Olga recalls. But it turned out that success in business and a big happy family are compatible things.

“Many women in Russia believe that children will complicate their lives, so they are afraid to give birth,” she says. “And I realized very early that children are the best stimulus for my own development and for successful career. And I don’t know what would have happened if we had one or two children. Perhaps they would have lived with her husband in a small two-room apartment. And when the third, fourth child appears, it is already difficult to fit into the usual standards - you need other housing, and other opportunities for education, development of children, recreation, travel.

Conversely, a successful career and professional experience, in turn, help in organizing own family. According to Sorokina, all business processes are applicable here: time management, delegation and control. Olga doesn't cook, doesn't clean, doesn't iron, doesn't wash, and thus saves a lot of time. "There are people who can do it better than me." The main thing is to give children quality time, giving them something that no one else can give - tenderness, attention, affection. Mom is needed to listen, talk, hug, Olga is always ready to spend time on this, and Olga’s whole working life is built with this in mind. Work is ten minutes from home, and Olga does not waste time on traffic jams. In the morning he escorts the elders to school, after that he takes care of the kids - feeds them, plays, reads. Closer to 12, he goes to work if there are no morning meetings, and returns late in the evening to put the little ones to bed, check the lessons of the elders and have time to discuss the past day with them.

Partly because of this, Olga refused long business trips. “I have to fly often - to London, to Switzerland, but I try to manage it in one day or, in extreme cases, with one overnight stay.”

There is only one nanny in the family - she takes care of the younger ones, working on weekdays, and leaves when mom or dad returns home. The older generation helps a lot with the upbringing of children. “My husband and I are very grateful to our parents for the fact that they spare no effort, energy and time for their grandchildren, while always taking into account the position of their parents, this is quite rare now.”

It is important to note that Olga chose not just the path of a working mother, but a very difficult business. Responsible for the execution of a $1 billion deal and advising owners on how to manage the assets resulting from such deals is not an easy task. Olga has to structure deals and personal assets for people from Forbes list- this implies the highest level of trust on their part and understanding on her part. The most interesting thing is that many businessmen consult not only on business issues, but also on schools for the child, resolving family conflicts, and also ask how to persuade their wife to have one or two more children.

A mother of many children is surprised by the opinion of many that children can be born only if you can afford it financially. "Who determines the norm - the minimum / maximum wealth?" She remembers a friend from Monaco who says she can't afford a second one and thinks Olga is imprudent because she doesn't take her children on a private jet, but on scheduled airlines, putting them at risk. “Phrases annoy me that it’s better to give birth to one and give him all the best,” and in fact, the very calm and balanced Sorokina is really annoyed, “than to give birth to many poor-quality ones. I do not believe that the “quality of children”, the quality of upbringing or education depends on the number of children. There are completely different reasons that lie outside the material sphere.

The children of Sorokina themselves do not think so either. And to the question, what is it like to live in such big family, the eldest son Vanya says: “Cool, fun, no one has more families like ours.”

Olga is very responsible in raising children: there were expensive private schools and free public, home education and study in England. And if there are questions for older children regarding studies or behavior, then in the summer they can be sent to a labor camp or to a skete for a month - instead of resting abroad: "Children should understand that life is different." Although usually vacations are spent with the whole family. “We travel a lot and love to travel. Even five-year-old Mark has already visited a couple of dozen countries. Sometimes we leave without children, usually to Europe for the weekend, spending time together is also very important.”

“Of course, children are a lot of experiences,” Olga admits. - And probably my heart hurts more often than the average mom. Children often get sick, Svyatoslav was electrocuted as a child, Mark was nursed for a long time in intensive care after childbirth, the younger ones are incredibly energetic and restless, the older ones always lose Cell phones, are delayed and do not call, but all this can be experienced.

The only thing I don't have time for is my own interests. I used to be able to read, dance, exercise, swim. Now it's already difficult. Sorokina was in the beauty salon only once in her life - before the second wedding. However, this does not particularly bother her: “Of course, I don’t have enough time for myself, but the degree of happiness that I get from children cannot be compared with anything.”

http://www.forbes.ru/forbes-woman/semya/52637-i-materinstvo-i-kapital

Today, women in Russia and almost all over the world began to start a family and give birth to their first child later than it was at least a few decades ago. Young girls prefer to first achieve financial stability and some success in their careers, and only then think about marriage and children.

In fact, these are not at all mutually exclusive things: for example, the heroine of the TLC project (the Business Mom program) Olga is a successful business woman who has eight children, and not one of them is deprived of attention.

Olga Sorokina - the main character of the program "Business Mom"

Combining work and family is not difficult - just follow these rules.

See the goal, not the obstacles

Even at the stage of planning a child - the first, second or third, it does not matter - a consistent plan of action should be drawn up. How much time to spend on maternity leave, will it be possible and necessary to work remotely for several hours a day, is it worth hiring a nanny or a housekeeper and how much money will it take, is there a financial airbag in case of force majeure.

Of course, you can do without planning and decide according to the circumstances - how it will turn out, it will turn out, but preliminary preparation helps to at least protect yourself, as far as possible, in an emergency.

In addition, it is useful to determine the long-term prospects.

A well-formulated dream turns into a clear goal,

therefore, when balancing family and career, it is important to have in mind a detailed idea of ​​​​what, in fact, needs to be achieved. To take a certain position in a few years sounds much clearer than the vague wording "move up the career ladder."

If the goal is vague and blurry, then the path to it will be long, which a working mother, who already has a lot of other worries, cannot afford.

compare watches

Organization - keyword to strike a balance between career and family. Paradoxically, many mothers who stay at home with children have much less time than those who combine family and work. This is due to the illusion of a lot of free time.

In fact, the less time, the more efficiently it is used.

If in 2 hours you need to have time to go to the store, cook dinner, and solve work matters, then there is no time to be distracted by useless activities - you want to finish everything as soon as possible and have time to chat with your family.

In order to use the limited resource of time as competently as possible, it is best to make a to-do list both for the week ahead and for every day, you can even paint it by the hour. It is useful to praise yourself for each completed item, and not to lament because of the unfulfilled ones, but to look for the cause and try to analyze the failure in the schedule.

Distractions, miscalculated task times, unforeseen circumstances, or even just mood can all be taken into account next time. But it is important not only to optimize your schedule, but also to properly manage the freed hours.

When spending time with your family, it's best to put your phone and laptop away and turn off the TV.

In addition, it is useful to start daily rituals, for example, read a bedtime story to your child, draw with him in the evenings, or sculpt from plasticine. Let it be half an hour, an hour, but the child must know that at this time the mother belongs only to him. So he will not feel left out and will not insistently demand attention if he suddenly has to answer a business letter from home - yes, mom is busy now, but later she will definitely read a book to him.

The same goes for relationships with your husband and with yourself - you can not neglect any aspect of your life. Romantic dinners or quiet breakfasts on the day off, when you can be just the two of you, going to the beautician or the gym, doing what you love all alone - all this is equally important, and you can’t constantly sacrifice a single component.

Enlist support, moral and not only

It is very important for a woman balancing between family and career to try to surround herself with the right, reliable people who you can always rely on. This applies to both work and family.

Women bosses, having formed a team of qualified professionals, can be calm for most work processes

They do not require constant vigilant monitoring. Employees who are not in a leadership position, having built respectful and trusting relationships with colleagues and superiors in advance, will be able to expect that they will be met halfway - they will be replaced or let go home early if necessary (of course, you should not abuse this).

By choosing the right nanny, school or Kindergarten, mom will not have to worry about how and with whom the child spends time. Accordingly, she will be able to fully concentrate on work.

Olga, the heroine of the Business Mom project on TLC, also advises not to compromise with her own dreams and ideas about the ideal: when she realized that her husband was not ready to share responsibilities equally (including taking care of children) and help her in all endeavors, she did not tolerate it. She was not on her way with such a person: Olga was not afraid to be left alone with five children - and she did not lose. Very soon she remarried, and her husband Marat is actively involved in the upbringing of eight children and does not make any difference between family and adoptive - he loves everyone equally. With such support, Olga is not afraid to go on business trips and sometimes stay late at work during important negotiations.

Share and succeed

It is equally important to be able to delegate authority and trust the execution of certain tasks to other people.

You need to understand that superheroes cannot maintain order in the world alone - even they have their own assistants.

Nothing bad will happen if at least some things are left out of control for a while, especially those that are poorly obtained or do not bring pleasure. Modern mothers have enough opportunities to make their lives easier: cleaning companies, home-made food delivery and inexpensive cafes where you can order healthy and delicious lunches, dry cleaners, taxis, online stores, services that allow you to hire a specialist for one-time assignments. Sometimes you can just let other people do some work and save time.

The family should also be safely taken as assistants, after all, you are doing one thing. An adult child can be entrusted with some simple household chores: let him have his own tasks, his own area of ​​\u200b\u200bresponsibility - this can be something simple, but always regular, which will allow him not only to make life easier for his parents, but also to feel like an adult himself.

Grandparents, who are healthy and who do not mind sitting with their grandchildren themselves, can pick up the child from school a couple of days a week or feed them lunch.

Do you also think that caring mother and make a successful career impossible? But Olga Sorokina, co-owner of one of the leading consulting companies, has already given birth to her eighth (!) child.

Discover America

Olga did not dream of a large family in her youth: there was no example before her eyes. Like her mother, she wanted to build a career and started working from school bench: she graduated from a French special school with a medal and worked part-time with groups of foreign tourists. Then, already a student at the Academy of Law, she met her future first husband and soon followed him to the United States, where she entered the university. - In America, we rented an apartment on campus without furniture, because it was cheaper by $ 40, and this was a significant amount, - says Olga. - Things were collected almost from landfills. When I tell this to the kids, they don't believe...

The difficulties of American life, however, did not frighten the young spouses. They decided to give birth to their first child in the United States: they wanted to provide their daughter with American citizenship.
“It’s even strange that I was so pragmatic at 18,” she laughs.
However, the young parents did not stay in the States: they yearned for their homeland. Olga returned to the law academy, began to work and again ... to give birth to children, of whom there were already four by the time she graduated from the university.

In law, there are two ways: to work within the company and become a specialist in a narrow field, or to engage in independent consulting, being an adviser to companies from completely different sectors of the economy. The first is stability. The second is risk. Olga Sorokina chose the latter. Oddly enough, despite the presence of so many children, there were no problems with work. Olga was always able to negotiate with employers regarding a special work schedule, which was tailored to the needs of the children.

Children on the shoulders

Starting as an international tax consultant, within a year she was in charge of the international legal department of the company, and a few years later she took a high position (and then became a partner and co-owner) in a large consulting company leading billions of dollars in transactions.
“I don’t know how to do housework at all,” Sorokina admits. All household chores are done for me by other people. But the upbringing, study, leisure of children are on our shoulders with my husband.
By the way, Olga is now in her second marriage.

I never thought that with five children I would not get married, but I was afraid that new chosen one will not be able to get along with them, - says Olga. - My second husband, before we met, was a secular young man, he worked hard and led an active nightlife, far from any children's worries, feedings and diapers, and for a long time I could not believe that I am a mother of five !!! And when he finally realized, he was worried about whether he would be able to build relationships with children, support us and take care of us. Happened! We have three more babies!

I ask Olga why many business women do not want to have children, they are afraid that this will interfere with their career.
“Stereotypes are strong,” she says. - It is believed that, while making a career, you will not be able to pay the necessary attention to children. But you can successfully combine everything. Although there is no time for yourself - to lie on the couch, go to a beauty salon - of course, there is no time left.
Second, labor legislation should give preferences to women with many children. As an employer, I myself am not afraid of the presence of children with employees. We support pregnant women - financially and by giving them the opportunity to work remotely.
And, finally, the state should stimulate the birth rate not only among the poor. The support that is being provided to the middle class today is not particularly tangible. For example, I would really need tax incentives - such exist in many Western countries. In the meantime, I don’t even have a certificate of a mother of many children - there is no time and incentive to get it.

Full text - Arguments and Facts

Having learned the story of Olya Sorokina, I want to throw up my hands and exclaim: “Like in a fairy tale!”. A provincial girl from a poor family managed to conquer the catwalks of the world's fashion capitals and appear on the covers of leading glossy magazines ... It seems that it could not have done without help good wizard. In fact, everything is more prosaic. Between the moment when Olga first crossed the threshold of a modeling agency in her native Vitebsk and the day when our heroine became the winner of the contest Firstfaceon theRussianFashionweek there were months of exhausting work, and, to be honest, moments when hands dropped and it seemed: everything, the last chance was missed ...

However, luck in half with perseverance did their job, and today, becoming one of the most sought-after domestic models, Olga managed to form her own opinion about the job that millions of girls from 12 years old and older dream of getting ...

- Did it bother you that you started your career on the podium quite late - at the age of 18?

There was no other way: I could leave my hometown only when I reached the age of majority. Otherwise, I simply would not have had time to finish school, and my parents would not have let me go. Of course, when I lived in Vitebsk, it often seemed to me that, probably, nothing would work out - it was already too late ... But upon arrival in Moscow, all fears were immediately dispelled: I saw that girls of all ages come to auditions. Recently, for example, for a shoot in London, models were required from 25 to 30 years old. Age is absolutely not important, because some people look 25 at 18 and vice versa.

- Was it really necessary to move to the capital in order to take the first steps in this profession?

In my native Vitebsk, I did not and could not have any professional achievements. There is also a “modeling agency”, so-called at the level of an amateur circle: classes are held at the local theater, a variety of girls come, of any age and any build, they are taught how to walk, good manners and the like ... Nobody takes it seriously. No one conducts castings or filming with them. There go those who have nothing to do. And besides, in my city it is believed that being a model is something shameful, not good.

- It was probably difficult to decide to leave - to leave family, friends?

No, it is not difficult. I've always wanted this. When I was in high school, I knew that I would be leaving soon. When you live in the provinces, in an ordinary five-story building, while constantly reading glossy magazines, watching TV, seeing how colorful it all is, the desire to somehow change your life arises by itself. Why do all famous models come from the periphery? There are very few Muscovites in Moscow agencies; in America, the majority are also not from New York, but from some small towns. Because television and “gloss” stories, talking about such a distant life from them, make girls from the provinces dream of it as something fabulous, magical. I think my departure to Moscow was the starting point in my career. Having decided on this, I have already done half the battle.

- What happened after you arrived in Moscow?

Actually, at first I wanted to get to London, but they didn’t let me in, because it’s very difficult to leave Belarus to work as a model. They think it's something like human trafficking, something bad. Therefore, all the agencies in our country and in Minsk were closed ... I went to Moscow, because there was nothing else left for me. Some connections quickly appeared here - friends who helped. Soon, thanks to them, I was able to leave for New York. When you come to a big city, it becomes no longer scary: there are a lot of people like you, visitors, and everyone supports each other.

- That is, stories about envy and fierce competition among models are a myth?

There must be some competition. But I think that everything that is written in magazines and newspapers, that the models allegedly fight, slip nails into each other's shoes, is not true. At least I haven't come across this. I still think that all the girls are mostly good and friendly.

- Was it not scary to go on the podium for the first time?

First time in Moscow - no. It was scary in New York at Fashion Week. Many world-famous models participated in the opening, and I was very worried. I had very large shoes, they glued them to me with adhesive tape, I walked and thought: “Only they didn’t fall off, they weren’t lost! Just don't stumble!"

- Did you manage to conquer New York as quickly as Moscow?

Of course, everything does not happen at once. In America, at first they told me that I had short stature and that with my 174 cm, for me, in general, all the catwalks are closed. But then I realized that there is not, and cannot be, a single opinion. One stylist thinks one way, the other thinks differently. One will say that you are beautiful, the other - that you are ugly. The main thing is to get on those people who will like you, because shooting does not depend on the model, but on the photographer and on the stylist. Whatever hairstyle they give you, that's how you will be. You're beautiful, you're ugly, it doesn't matter.

Even the height problem can be solved, because in each collection there are both ballet flats and high-heeled shoes. Earlier, when I lived in Vitebsk, I thought that all the models are so tall - 1 m 80 cm - and I will never get anywhere at all. In fact, everyone is so different! We are not talking about 90x60x90 at all! There are both thin and fuller ones ... I even got the impression that models are ordinary people, just maybe a little taller and slimmer. Each customer has their own preferences. Someone needs short girls to shoot; someone needs the model to have no breasts at all, while someone, on the contrary, requires magnificent forms ... And so it always is!

- It turns out that appearance is not important for a successful modeling career?

The success of a model depends on her appearance by 50 percent, no more. In addition to the stylist, the professional level of the agency and the people who work with you play a very important role. A bad photographer or stylist will come across - don't expect anything good from shooting.

- But still, you need to keep yourself in shape, not without it. How are you doing with this?

Personally, I do not limit myself in food at all. (indeed, during our interview in a cafe, Olya, without a twinge of conscience, ate apple pie, - approx. auth.). My hobby, extreme tourism, helps me not to gain excess weight. I go hiking in the countries Latin America: I have already visited Peru and Venezuela. Previously, before I began to rotate in this environment, I also thought that all models exhaust themselves with some kind of strict diets. But now I understand that most people don’t need this, because they always have to be on their feet, go to auditions, to try on, - if you want it - if you don’t want it, you start to lose weight. We even have our own saying: “If you want to lose weight, go model.”

The most difficult thing, if we take the technical side of our work, is, of course, makeup and hairstyles. It is very difficult to preserve your appearance during the filming process. Therefore, many models are not enough for a long time - one hairstyle, and the hair is already ruined. Permanent makeup and styling ... Hair and skin simply can not withstand such stress. Therefore, in ordinary life, for example, I don’t wear make-up at all - so that at least occasionally my face can “rest”.

- The age of the model is not long ... Do you have a fear of the future?

It seems to me that this fear is inherent in any normal person. Everyone can lose their earnings, not just a model. Of course, I am no exception. Once I thought that I could combine shooting and showings with studying at a university, but now I understand that this is possible only if you treat work as some kind of hobby, but everything is not like that with me - I work, completely " plunging into the business. Therefore, for the time being, to be honest, I don’t know what I will do when I have to leave the modeling business, but I think that I can find some use for myself.

Today, when you see a girl who dreams of becoming a model, don't you have a desire to dissuade her?

I think everyone should try. Probably, if I had not become a model, I would have regretted it very much later. Let them not like it, but you still need to go to the casting, test yourself. Because otherwise this unfulfilled desire will sit in your head, and will not give rest all your life.

Ksenia Krushinskaya