psa to diouana women who want to become institutionally relevant

the pursuit is much more rewarding than the destination

institutional you say…

i once told a curator that my goal as a collector is to build an institutionally relevant art collection. one that not only speaks to the canon, but creates its own.

a collection that, when all the pieces are assembled and displayed, will tell a philosophy uniquely my own: an irreverence to the status quo with an insistence on structure. it makes no sense, but the best way i’ve heard my philosophy described back to me is when he said, “you hate authority, but like discipline.”

nothing worth having was easy to obtain. that has been the hallmark of everything beautiful i’ve achieved in this life.

so, it was fun to speak with my fellow diouana women this past weekend about women who have, and are trying to become, institutionally relevant women. the operative word here is “institutionally.” an essay on the topic is forthcoming, but in short, my view on institutions is that they have corporate (defined as united groups of people) backing. an institution can outlast all the people who brought it to life, as example.

so to become an institutionally relevant woman is to become someone who has backing. corporate or otherwise, but backing nonetheless.

i’ve written about how no one makes it on their own. and this is not to diminish the hard work people have put into their lives. no, it’s an acknowledgement that as you progress, and as you grow in your life, the people you know begins to expand as do the people they know. and it’s in this network that ideas and resources start to be shared. and it’s in this network, this unified group of people, that one can bring a vision to the fore.

so, to become an institutionally relevant woman is not just to climb a corporate ladder. although that’s all good and well, but to become networked as the data scientists would say. in sociological terms, someone who has the social capital that begets the economic capital. and with these two, you can create whatever cultural capital you want. you can execute on the vision of yourself, and your group. you can reach the audience you want and tell the story you feel is worth telling.

and once you’re able to institutionalize your efforts, then your ecosystem becomes just that: an institution.

remaining disciplined in a digital frontier?

people are one part of this equation, and systems are another. if you follow any wellness guru, you’ll know that they’ll tell you to “focus on habits, not goals.” this is the secret sauce to achieving any goal: the systematic breakdown of a proven step-by-step process that feeds into a broader framework that, upon its continual execution, gets you to where you want to be without you even realizing it. it’s a seamless, but not painful, way to achieve goals.

make a plan. break it down. and stick to it. and only change your methods if the circumstances deem it so.

given that it’s the top of the new year, a few of the habits i am committing to this year is researching and writing. my goal with diouana woman remains steadfast: provide value through thought leadership.

but i, like you, am a busy woman with many responsibilities. but that’s no excuse to neglect what is blossoming into a beautiful and high-caliber community.

so, to that end, i spent some time, many hours if i’m being honest, building an automation that allows me to research at scale. now, with a single email, i can run a structured sentiment analysis and deep dive, freeing me up to hyperfixate on my most compelling ideas. this means more essays, more rigor, and more consistency!!!

from a thought daughter, with love…

books have been my best friends since i was a baby. i love getting lost in other people’s worlds. i learn through reading, so i love the opportunity to share the texts that have helped me reframe my thinking or reinforced it altogether.

this past saturday, at the second edition of the diouana woman salon, we discussed institutional power, women on a pursuit to become institutionally relevant, and the pitfalls of miscalculated power plays, i curated the books below to be a supplement to this conversation:

ambition and desire: the dangerous life of josephine bonaparte by kate williams

sex with kings: 500 years of adultery, power, rivalry, and revenge by eleanor herman

uses of the erotic: the erotic as power by audre lorde

coco chanel: a biography by axel madsen

if i were you, i’d start with audre lorde, then the eleanor herman book, then kate williams then end with axel madsen. the narrative thread throughout all these texts is how women become institutionally relevant, but reading them in this order will give you a clearer understanding as to why their paths unfolded they way they did. remember, the obtaining of power, and the resulting institutional influence, is rarely an unintended (side) quest.

lastly, many of you have expressed a desire to reach out to me personally. although i remain available here (i love a good dm), please feel free to send any questions, inquiries, or love letters to concierge@diouanawoman.com.

p.s. before i go

i mentioned this on my livestream yesterday but want to restate it here: tomorrow i am interviewing dr. catherine hakim for another platform of mine, what i call the “corporate face” of the diouana woman universe. she’s a social scientist with an expertise in erotic capital. it is as interesting as it sounds, so if you’ll be up at 6a eastern (the interview will be conducted at her home in london), i invite you to listen in if you don’t mind rising before the sun.

sweet dreams,
a diouana woman

disclaimer: the views expressed in this essay are those of the author and do not reflect the views of any employer, past or current.