I had a succession of wonderful mentors, men and women, during my twenties. But I found myself rejecting each one, when the time came: it was a necessary rebellion like separating from parents. I outgrew the lessons. I needed to complete my education by myself. Now I really enjoy mentoring - and I try to understand when some of my protegees dump me!

If you can work 26 hours a day, stand on your head etc. then Work for yourself!

Liz and Mary, I agree with you both. I am the founding General Manager of WYCC-TV/PBS and Chicago’s first female television GM. I learned and was promoted with the philosophy Liz articulated and I built the station with Mary’s philosophy. Of my philosophy I add that I managed by example. If my staff worked 26 hours, I worked 30. I am in love with excellence and my staff saw that and later in my career my students saw that.

This advice above is excellent - I was advised to treat my boss the way I would like to be treated - it was simple advice that has served me well…now I treat my staff the way I would have wanted to be treated in their roles I also am lucky I had a mix of great mentors early in my career and not so great ones later on before becoming a manager myself I am also mentoring an entry-level person and it’s a challenge - but it works because he wants to learn so I think the key is hire someone who has the eagerness to learn and know they have to pay their dues to move up in the world and gain experience, and not someone necessarily that is only eager to get ahead (those are the ones that don’t work) the few things I told him were: he is responsible for his happiness on the job - if he is unhappy, he has to come see me and offer solutions; I expect him to ask questions as to why I say certain things in public and why I don’t - I am not going to babysit him, he has to take charge of his learning now if I can get advice on managing female admin asst’s, then I’m all set…

Mary Wells maybe should read this article: www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/03/23/wo…

Here is something (I don’t want to be a boss) that you ladies Joni, Liz, Leslie and Mary can help with. I have a book AIM HIGH! 101 Tips For Teens that should be given by a foundation or corporation to every 7th grader each year. There is no other book like it. I have a survey and comments from teens and parents showing how much they like the book and believe that it can help improve teens lives. Please see www.aimhigh101tipsforteens.com for survey, plan and comments. Any corporation like Gillette or a cell phone company that markets to teens will benefit from having their name sponsoring the book and they will get goodwill for doing something good. A foundation dealing with education should distribute the book because it can help individual teens on a very low cost basis. I don’t want to go the regular publishing route because all teenagers should have the book not only the few that buy it. The book is an elixir for teenagers. There is not anything that helps each teenager as does AIMHIGH! Even teenage boys read the book without a fuss. You ladies are very powerful and if you want to educate and help teenagers please help get the book to teenagers. Sometimes people focus on a narrow path of doing business and do not know a great product when it is right in front of them. Corporations need new ways to advertise and differentiate themselves. Foundations need the book because it is the best educational tool for teenagers and if they truly want to educate and help teens there is nothing better - I’ve studied this subject for years. Thank you!

My first for was for EF Hutton when they were the Tiffany of brokerage houses. I was hired to replace someone with far more interior architecture/real estate & construction management background than me. My boss said the man couldn’t finesse the thousands of people encountered on the job, and he didn’t follow. My son was in grade school and the job would require constant zig-zagging around the US. On my way to the interview I asked my mother, “How can I manage all the travel with a young child, house, and husband. She said, “Go there, get the job offer, will work that out later.” Great advice for always focusing on first things, first. I was asked to start immediately, and am organized my nature, but I learned to be super organized and make every minute do double-duty. One day I’d be in NYC, the next Salem, Mass, the next Boston, then Aspen, Naple, Fl, San Diego, etc. My mother and aunt and grandmother all lived within a mile and all pitched-in to care for my son. They loved it and so did he. EFH was booming and I would fly into areas that fit our demographic profile to select and lease AAA anchor tenant sites in the most prominent locations. Then either design the smaller projects to the standard, or work with a designer on larger projects, and set up the complex construction, fixture and furnishings and move-in schedules, etc. Once a move-in date was announced to the SEC it couldn’t be changed. If your needed piece of equipment was sitting on a truck stuck in a snowstorm two states a way on a Friday, and keeping you from getting the certificate of occupancy and opening on Monday, you’d better be imaginative and figure out what to do, toute suite. There were few women in the field. I was always well dressed, worked like the devil on speed and made it look like a breeze often staying through weekends, till 4AM, walking through airport parking garages alone at 2 AM, etc. I wanted to exceed my boss’s expectations, but I was clear that I was doing it for me. For the great reference, and for the satisfaction at the finish line knowing you did your best. At EFH it was grounds for termination to reveal the amount of your annual bonus. In my first year there a fellow employee who’d been with the company 20 years whispered that the amounts were always equivalent to one week. Imagine my surprise when I opened the envelope to find a check for half my annual salary. My boss also approved me for taking broker training and I became licensed on the NYSE, OTC, Pacific and other boards trade so I could thoroughly understand the business I was in. I established a reputation among the 7 regional VPs as the go-to person to get whatever done. I loved my boss, loved the people and the job, and most importantly had tremendous respect for the CEO, George Ball. Our offices were linked up nationwide for telecom meetings with him. He instilled high standards. It was a classy organization and an honest one, I was proud to be there. The day it was announced he was leaving it felt like JFK died. When his replacement showed up I knew the man had no integrity. I left for another fantastic job at UCLA, and another terrific boss I admire to this day. Shortly thereafter a check-kiting scandal turned the famous slogan of “When EF Hutton talks, everybody listens” to “When EF Hutton talks, everybody snickers.” I say build a reputation for excellence, but always in your own mind know you work for yourself. If your self-esteem or self-definition depends on that company, or that boss, or even that field, and it disappears your own self-confidence can fall into the basement. Whatever you do with excellence translates into whatever you do next. up until 4AM and get back up at 6AM. I think it’s more than thinking of your boss but wanting excellence in your life. None of us will ever be perfect but there’s great satisfaction at the finish line when you knew you did your best. I also had great men bosses who rewarded my diligence with primo projects and fat bonuses. But the two people who most influenced me to always work hard and do your best were Sister Cabrini my art teacher in 9th grade. She so impressed me then and to this day I made her a character in my novel. And Jackie Kennedy because she was fantastic at everything she did. I remember Hubert de Givenchy saying about his great lifelong friend Audrey Hepburn when she died that she did knowing she’d done everything with perfection. But more than working hard I think being effective and focused on results. Some people make a lot of noise about being busy but in the end really don’t produce.

Not having had such important business experiences like many of you, nevertheless, what I did learn was teamwork. Now I’m in my 70’s and still working that way , arm-in-arm with other wonderful women, helping everyone reach goals together for themselves and their families and we are independent contractors. It’s a great thing that we are all the boss, Yay for us!