Live com Luiza Trajano sobre o livro "Mulher do Brasil"

Hi, good afternoon everyone. It's a pleasure to be here with you, Norma. Thank you very much for the introduction. How cool, right, people? You can read books and then discuss them. That's a very creative thing. Look, I've done lives, but I think this is very creative. Congratulations. It's really cool, and I'm here to answer whatever you think. Thank you.

Many publishers came after me, many people wanted to write a book, but I have a lot of difficulty stopping to talk about myself. I don't remember much, I don't know many things. So I'm very much about living the present intensely. Of course, the past is an experience for me, so I never wanted to write. One day, Bial called me and said, 'Look, I won't give you work. I'll have a team researching everything. You won't spend more than one or two hours with me. It's not you who will tell the book. Please, it's you who will tell me. Who will tell me are the people who live with you, the clients, the people who live with you.' And he's really cool. I let myself go. It took a year, then the pandemic came. Together with my aunt, it's really cool. And the other part, when Bial decided to do it, I read it. I'm not even from there. I held Ricardo's hand for almost 30 years, I didn't police it. And yesterday, the day before yesterday, we launched the book completely. Thank you very much for honoring us by always being with us, telling one story after another. So we made a year, and the book has no other name than to talk about Luiza Helena, woman of Brazil. So it's a book that tells my story, but it tells a story of a life that is very connected to personal things, family, family too. A testimony from my three children that I didn't even know. So that's how it was born. And at the beginning, I was very concerned about having distribution to small bookstores too, so it wouldn't stay big. So it was really cool, and I stayed up until midnight photographing the books. 'Oh, how cool, how nice.' It's a responsibility, but at the same time, you have to write. YouTube, the people who participate in Normalize Mais plant a tree, you know? Each subscription, we plant a tree in partnership with Zanir Furtado, who is a businesswoman. Very cool. Now I need to write a book too.

So, people ask me that, and I also question myself. I'm not very good at having friendships; I'm good at doing. I'm a person who says that luck only appears to those who are in motion. I live in motion, Norma. I participate in everything, and I'm a person who learned to be fully present in each moment. What I'm doing today, I've already had a day of a lot of action. I've already had lunch with people, received people from outside twice, been with groups. Magazine here, when I sat here, I'm with you. You know when I sit down in the morning for breakfast, I'm with the person who works with me. When I'm like this, I learned. And with that, since I was little, I've been very out of the house. I get scared. I'm not a person who repeats things the way I do. I finished, so I learn in practice, living together, and in a simple way that is not simple, but it's very simple. My life is very simple. I invite very simply. I'm a very easy person to catch. The book makes that very clear.

Because I don't like it. I think that if you spend too much time on diagnosis, if you know you have an education problem, I don't need to spend 30 years discussing education. So why not start changing education? So Magazine Luiza has long given a scholarship to any employee, because it gives results. But whoever does well gets a scholarship of 30 to 70% for any subject, and it's not a retention process. You can graduate today and leave. It's the way I found to help education. On the other hand, in the Mulheres do Brasil group, which you are part of, you know it's a group of 116,000 women worldwide. That's a lot of people, right? But it's political because they are laws that improve the country, public policies that are ignored. And my goal, our goal, was to have in each base of this country, it has to be integral, and we have many things that are very fragmented. And we talk about education, and education. So I have a system that is very difficult to understand. I create, I put order, and during the vaccine, I lived a lot with executives, men, even my friends, but I lived in the operation. And then I said, I had some that gave me a lot of work to understand the broth, because men like to structure, do everything right. And when I made the broth, he went crazy. I have a friend, president of a company, who started giving me a lot of work. When he said, 'Luiza, let's go to the center to talk to Frank Mel,' it was the present to thank, because he gave good money for Unidos pela Vacina. It didn't go through us, but he sponsored places. Then I went in, and these nutrition things, I realized that you also have it. I picked it up and said, 'What? I will also have to change. You will also have to do this.' Explain to him. Then it went.

It's like that. Heloísa, you know I have a lot to thank you for, because in the book there is a passage where you always respond to consumers, you are always attentive, right? Always empathy, looking at your client and everything. And people say, 'Wow, she gives her phone number to everyone, she responds to everyone.' And I say, 'This is an experience of mine, because I never forget when I sent you a message, I don't know, 2021, it's been a while, and you responded to me in 10 minutes. I explained everything. I said, 'I can't believe Luiza responded.' And it's true. This happened in practice. So you really are about doing and solving. Very cool. I think there is a single principle in my life: do to others what you would like them to do to you. Sometimes, I'm human, I don't do it, but then I return. I learned very early, my love, anyone who sees the book knows. I worked for a long time at the store point as a saleswoman, and when you do that, you learn what empathy is, because to make a consistent sale, a very simple person from my city, I didn't even know what they were buying. You have to put yourself in their shoes. In their world, being a worker, a housewife, how would I want to buy that product? So I developed a lot through this practice of selling. Empathy. So I change roles. For example, for Flávia, I arrived like this, a little before, I was still outside the video quickly, she said, 'Oh, I'm so nervous.' Then I said, 'Flávia, Norma, you can be calm, I'm very normal, everything will be fine.'

I say that life, my people, is an exchange. I give to you, and you give to me. There is no one who doesn't have something to give. And then, what you said at the beginning, I develop my ability to learn a lot. And there's another thing: if you start talking about retail to me, I'll... because I give you a chance to talk to me. I don't go, 'Oh, I know, I'm doing this.' No, I have this. I first give you about 15 minutes to talk to me. This is a mandatory skill, very important. You have to learn that people who decide to speak have something to teach you.

First, they have to understand that the world has changed after COVID. I've been saying that many people still haven't understood that leadership... Let's think: if you said, 'Luiza, you're going to do a one-hour live lecture,' nobody can stand that anymore. It's wonderful. It changed. The way you deal with it changed, and the form of leadership too. You have to be empathetic. You have to change roles with the other. And it's not all nice. I ask God every day for authority, wisdom, and justice, because the leader needs it, and we need to know how to ask for that too. So, Norma, I think the leader needs to understand that they can't do everything alone. They need to understand that management is no longer mechanical, where everything is like a machine, where you couldn't say you had a problem at home. Here you take off the professional cap and put on the personal one. That's over. Have you noticed that we are one thing? In my book, I say I've been doing this since the 90s. So, thank God, I didn't remove another woman. So I lived with many men. There were many times, even today, I am the only female president of a large retail company, and now there are some smaller ones that are being led by women. And I never said, people, I never stopped being feminine. And when people say, 'Wow, you're angry, huh?' I never go home and say, 'Just because I'm a woman, I'm angry.' No, I'm firm. So I usually counter, but not by confronting, getting angry with men. I understand that they were raised in a very mechanical way. I think that only with this practice can we make a change. There's not much else to do in this situation.

It works a lot, but it works a lot with humans. I have a video, if you'll excuse me, that explains this well. Lu, our virtual saleswoman, who has existed for many years, was born to bring humanization to the site. And today, Norma, she is the biggest influencer in the world. Look, a Brazilian company that was born physical will show and explain this very well, because she will walk around, she even does fashion shows. She says that, like us, she looks for the team that works with Lu, and she is increasingly human. So I wanted to show this video that explains it. I never know if I'm going to show it, but when there's a question, I ask, and the girls will put it here.

So, Norma and everyone watching, I've always been very... you know that through the Mulheres do Brasil group, I've always been very bothered by skin color. Brazil had almost 400 years of slavery. Those who came tied up, unwilling, to be sold in public squares were Black people. We had a very bad abolition; people were thrown onto the streets without money, without a house, without work, without school, without housing. So you can imagine what that was, the disorder it caused, many times they went back. So we have very sad heritages. Brazil has 30% of people without food. So this is a very sad thing. And Black people, because they came this way and came to work, suffered more. And I always thought this and said to the people who talk about two vacancies for you to have more for me... And when we launched it, it was on a Friday. The publisher called me to launch Lázaro Ramos' book at the time, 2019. We called him internally, just to say that we weren't launching a program to learn about Black people. Then we sent a note to the company for people to sign up, and we saw it in a week. But the first 72 hours were terrible. It didn't pass anywhere, and they even created a type of racism. And by Sunday night... And last year we wanted to increase this number, we did 10 more. There will be no problem just for me, but then we opened it up to the whole world. There is a two-minute film that, after a year, is a film that moves everyone. The trainees, the first days, 19 of them made a film that I spent a lot of time on, but in two minutes it's called 'Legado'. I don't know if we can show it. I think unfortunately we won't be able to watch it, but if you want me to, I want to. Let's put the production, it's already with the video.

Hello everyone. I'm Luiza Helena, nice to meet you. I just want to greet you. I'm also very emotional because I think I put myself in the role of every mother who is there cheering. Congratulations. I'm very, very, very happy to see you. On your journey, we remember all the obstacles we had to overcome, the rejections we received, the disappointments. We are not here because we are Black; we are here because we are competent. We just stopped being discriminated against for being Black. Magalu is not solving the entire problem of structural racism or access; it is taking a first step so that this can be replicated. I have three that I faced, and my first time was not leaving this legacy for them to see that it is possible. We can achieve what some didn't believe we could be here. I didn't even know I could. But the great lesson we learned is that we just need opportunity and access, and that there is a great power within us that can take us wherever we want.

The whole world, wherever I go, people take an example, even if it wasn't the trainee program. And now I wanted to talk a little about diversity with you. I think in the book I talked a little about it. When they asked me how it is, I said, 'People, it's worth it. People like it. It's worth it.' Today, after ESG, whoever doesn't do it will be left out, because the final consumer is asking for it. If at any business point, store, anything, a Black person can be someone who has five followers, just film and put it on the internet. At the end of the day, everyone knows where it is. This is all about the client. So it's the final consumer and the financial market, very fast. So today, when I joined the stock exchange, I was always talking about diversity, about people. Magazine has been one of the best companies to work for for 24 years. Of course, people listened to me with polluted communication, but it didn't give more. But it's a real plus. Today, the people from the stock exchange ask if I have women, if I have Black people, how it is today. They ask questions, people, 10, 12 years later. So now it's not a question of wanting; it's a question that the final consumer determines for us, and they are demanding this. So it's very important for us to understand that too.

I agree. I think there are many people who are, but it depends on the leadership to pull it, and they have to pull it.

I think our time has come. We have to understand that the market has changed. Women today... I have a great international friend who I used to say, 'You have to put women in high positions.' He called me the other day and said, 'Luiza, I have news for you: each... and men.' And then he said, 'Out of every 10 requests, 6 were women.' So first, it's good that it changed. We have to know the cycle for the negros. But he no longer needs to dye his hair; he doesn't need to. There are difficulties. So first, understand that the world has changed. Second, understand that the management style before the pandemic was very mechanical, and post-pandemic, we women are very prepared for an organic change, doing it gradually. They are mixed with technique. So we begin to understand and comprehend more the man who had a mechanical management. So our time has come. What I have been saying is very practical: I invite a woman to the pointer. She says, 'I'm ready.' Then I need to prepare a lot. A man won't say that; he goes and does it. Another thing: you put on a nice dress, and they say, 'Wow, what a nice dress you're wearing.' Then I say, 'I bought it on sale.' We are five women in September in Miami. It's not an event with hunger. At the award I went to receive for Mulheres do Brasil, I myself, people, I go once a week. Everyone thinks I have a makeup artist, but I don't. I keep it practical. On Instagram, I said thank you. I didn't keep saying, 'Oh, no.' Then they learned. Another one said, 'This dress of mine speaks for me. Why would you say it? I thank you.' So these are small tips, but they deeply affect us, you know? We have to have this self-esteem. Our moment has come. We will make mistakes. We don't have a mania for perfection. Others, you do so many things. I say, 'People, I don't have a mania for perfection. I give my best at each moment. It may be the best of me at that moment, but it's not the best for you.' And many times, you are not ready. You think you are ready for that moment, but you made a mistake. You say, 'Look, in this interview, you didn't do well in this. I won't do it. I will learn.' And we were born for this moment. So that means we are ready for this moment. Let's do it, right? It's for now, Luiza. It's for now.

Márcio, I think the biggest challenge was facing a lack of working capital many times. It was learning to deal with problems without letting them be bigger than they are. I think that was a challenge. And as a woman, it was putting myself as a woman. I never wanted to, even today, Márcia, I don't wear pants to work. Nothing wrong with that, I love it, but I wanted to be very feminine, be my way. So when I'm with men and they didn't listen to me, I said, 'Look, people, listen to me here, I have a cool idea, I think you'll like it.' Very feminine. So this struggle for me to be feminine, so that I wouldn't confront the man head-on, was a big struggle. You saw in the book, Italian, that giving power to a woman was not very easy. So it was a struggle, but I never played the victim, Márcia. I always praised everything I found, even in difficulty. I said, 'God, okay, this came so that even today I can learn the medicine. These people were very unfair. Look what scoundrels you were to me.' I say, 'Well, if it is, it's because I promised. What can I learn from this?' So I always talk a lot about learning.

Oh, Daniela, I don't want to judge what you don't know from the inside. What I can tell you, Daniela, is that their crisis itself generated a very big crisis in retail. Audits became stricter, more suspicious, more afraid. The financial market became so. So it's not a crisis that went unnoticed. It could be an opportunity. Many people will sell what they sold, and God willing, take that place. It's not good for us to lose, but it was a thing. The way... I'm not speaking ill of them, but all this hindered retail a lot. And then you said, 'Don't let the learning go to waste.' From now on.

They always make me... I will frustrate you. I am an only child, my aunt also didn't have children. I have very good self-esteem, Tainá. I would say, 'Everything is the same. You did it.' If at that age I didn't want that, I wouldn't have gotten where I got. Now, of course, the learning. I would make my way more institutionalized. I would have more calm than I have today. But of doing, right? I was a bit because I think, look, I came to São Paulo. My ability, I wanted to learn, I wanted to do. I faced it through water or... So I was very much like I am today, as I was this week, with high interest rates, with the Central Bank. We are open. We are in working capital. I don't have much short-term, of course. I wish it were lower and another reality, but I have a lot. I'm willing.

What's the girl's name? I think hiring, Ana, is still the best and biggest challenge there is, because a bad hire, no training can pay for. And at Magazine, no training can solve it. Sorry. So at Magazine, people who don't have the same values and culture—I'm not saying ours is the best—don't stay in the company. So we keep finding ways to discuss, to have fewer problems in hiring people. Now, after this, we have this last year, we grew a lot, and now we are paying the price of growth. But today I still had two groups in the field where we know that this culture has to stay, and it's so strong that it's in our bones. So it's very easy when it grows, fat physically. Now, our second, third, and fourth in the office. Today I'm very firm here. Tomorrow I'll go to the office.

Regina, I can tell you that physical stores have grown a lot, but this year physical stores were very good. The problem is that physical stores will have to transform into support, distribution, demonstration, not to deliver a product sold online. They won't end, but each day we transform the physical store into a meeting point for information and product pickup. So I don't believe they will surpass. We grew a lot until last year. We improved. If it's interesting, it improves, and the store starts to sell a differentiated physical store where people are on mobile, information is fast, you can pick up the product at the store two hours after buying it online. So it changes its function a bit. It increases some functions and decreases others.

In our group Mulheres do Brasil, we have a refugee committee. It's very cool. The objective is to train and select people. So we refer them to companies. Magazine Luiza has Blu, Tree, it has a lot. So there is a project. They are often multilingual. It's very important. In Brazil, there are other movements like Mulheres Brasileiras, associations, and together we do it. Now, specifically, we have a job integration program for refugees, and there are courses, everything that joins with other institutions that Magazine Luiza has, and they fit in when needed. It's very cool, very nice.

First, I think within Magazine Luiza, we never lose this culture: continue generating jobs, continue having profit with purpose. Within something I've had since I was 12 years old, my family has a lot, and in Brazil, Regina, I really want Brazil to be the Brazil of now, not the Brazil of tomorrow, the Brazil of the future. We have everything, people. We have the startup profile. We have culture, we have diversity, we have creativity. We have to have wonderful tourism. Brazil is beautiful, from Rio de Janeiro. All these women, Norma, and everything, we are the Brazil of now, including our women outside Brazil, which I am enchanted by. I just arrived from Madrid, New York, and Portugal, and we are enchanted that the women who are my mother around the world are competent. So we are competent. We need to speak. It doesn't seem like it in Brazil when you look. And I wanted to finish quickly. 50% of women in politics. Jump to 50. And I came now to Europe, where I, together with the group, a general coordination of more women in high positions, and about violence against women. Violence, Norma, you know, is one of our causes. It's the only cause of 22 that all countries have. It could be London, people. There is nothing worse than a woman being killed by her partner, suffering, the family of the husband suffers, the family of the woman suffers, and physiotherapy for the rest of her life. So Magazine takes it very seriously. We have help for various waves. We have a hotline, and Mulheres do Brasil has a challenge for four years starting in January: we don't want any violence against women in the world. That's why we will jump to 50, and men have been helping us. You're in trouble, and I wanted just a little song, a second of 'Pula para 50' for you to help us.