Executive Women: The Truth, The Lies, The Secrets Part II
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 at 12:40PM The highest paid female executives are like anyone else. The secrets that they tell don’t remain secrets for long and that’s a good thing. The secrets that they tell reveal a lot about what it takes for a woman to make it to the top of the corporate 
ladder. They tell secrets about what it takes for a man to make it to the top of the corporate ladder too. If you missed Part I of this 2 part series, it includes The Truth and The Lies of executive women.
Part II of this series, reveals the secrets told by female executives who have made it to the top of the corporate ladder, of which there are many. This article will feature just a few in order to keep this article from becoming as long as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Before you find out what the secrets of the highest paid female executives are, you may be interested in viewing this video. It depicts a 6 year old girl who has the kind of qualities that have propelled the world’s most successful women to the top!
Find out what the secrets are that successful women know by clicking the text link below.
The Secrets of Zoe Cruz, Co-President, Morgan Stanley
Her secret to determining if you should consider yourself successful. “To me success is defined by how happy a human being you are.”
The Secrets of Carly Fiorina, former chairman and CEO, HP
Her secret to becoming successful. “Don’t make a choice of any kind, whether in career or in life, just because it pleases others or because it ranks high on someone else’s scale of achievement or even because it seems to be, perhaps even for you at the time, simply the logical thing to do at that moment on your path. Make the choice to do something because it engages your heart as well as your mind. Make the choice because it engages all of you.”
The Secrets of Suzanne Nora Johnson, Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs
The secret that Goldman Sachs didn’t know when they hired her. “I wanted a job at the World Bank as a lawyer, but they said I needed experience in a financial organisation, so I came here”.
The secret to promoting the right people. “Character in the very broad sense, they must have integrity and a generosity of spirit.”
Her secret to getting through “tough days”. “You have to be optimistic to get through life. After all, how many successful pessimists do you know? You know, I love this job, but you have to be committed, very, very committed.”
Her secret to the kind of attitude you should have. “I just come in each morning and think about how we’re going to try to succeed.”
Her secret corporate growth strategy. “In a company as dynamic as this, you have to be thinking about what’s right today and what will be right in the next 12 months. What are we going to look like? How do we start staffing those positions? How do we evolve the great talent we have? I spend a lot of time setting the tone and the vision, finding the people, and rethinking the priorities and accountabilities.”
The Secrets of Susan Desmond-Hellmann, President, Product Development Genentech
Her secret to success. “Do something you’re passionate about and that challenges you. Ask yourself ‘What will I learn from this?’ Every day I learn something new at Genentech, and even though I didn’t have a very well laid out career path, I think I’ve learned and benefited from everything I did.”
The Secrets of Pat Russo, CEO of Lucent Technologies
The secret to hiring the right people. “Often during a talent search I’m asked what I’m looking for and my response always includes clear thinkers – people who can distil everything down to the right point. They can be very hard to find, but if you get yourself a team of clear thinkers, the possibilities are endless.”
Reader Comments (2)
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Karen.