Q&A: Magazine Mogul Cathie Black on Excelling

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By any standard, Cathie Black has achieved success. As president of Hearst Magazines, she oversees 145 international editions of some of America's best-known publications. She helped launch O, the Oprah Magazine and CosmoGirl.

The publishing honcho's new book, "Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)," ($25, Crown Business), is filled with advice and observations from decades of corporate life. Black's tips range from the conventional —"Don't take no for an answer"— to the more unusual "Think of your boss as a small woodland animal — make no startling moves or surprising gestures."

We chatted with this grad of D.C.'s Trinity University, who also made her mark here as president and publisher of USA Today and as president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America.

» EXPRESS: Why did you write this book?
» BLACK: To be a one-on-one mentor with the reader — a coach that can be with you in a tote bag, on your desk or by your bedside. When I was starting out, it would have been great to have a guide that could give me the ground rules of getting ahead and help me figure out how to balance my career with the other parts of my life. My hope is that "Basic Black" can play a mentoring role.

» EXPRESS: So, the book is aimed only at women? Any age range or career fields?
» BLACK: I wrote this book for women just starting out in their careers as well as women who are a rung higher and worried that they're going to stall there. I wrote it for women who have made it to the managerial level and are now breathing thinner air. And I wrote it for women who can see the brass ring and worry that the only barrier between them and it is themselves.

» EXPRESS: You start the book by discussing a dumb mistake early in your career. Is highlighting your own mistakes or inabilities a good tactic to put others at ease, or does it come off as weak and "female"?
» BLACK: Mistakes happen — the best thing you can do is manage the outcome and be sure to learn something. Someone once said you can make a big mistake or you can make a bad mistake — just don't make a big, bad mistake. In the book, I talk about missteps that I felt women could learn from.

For example, when I started as president at USA Today, I assumed everyone on the business side of the paper would be working for me. On my first day, one of the sales guys told me he would not be reporting to me. It made no sense at the time, and I was angry. But I had not gotten those details straightened out before I accepted the position, and that was my mistake. The lesson? Make sure you know all the facts before saying "yes" to the big title.

» EXPRESS: You spent 13 years in Washington, a conservatively dressed city. If someone here went to an interview in "fashion-forward" attire — as you mentioned they do in New York — it would raise eyebrows. Advice?
» BLACK: You never want to feel uncomfortable or make anyone else uncomfortable with your appearance. For the interview, I recommend erring on the side of conservative. Then pay close attention while you are in the offices of your potential employer: If the people working there seem to be dressed more casually, or fashion-forward, then it is probably OK for you to do the same.

» EXPRESS: How should someone cultivate a mentor? Is your boss the best choice?
» BLACK: A boss can certainly be a mentor —mine was. I encourage everyone to seek out a mentor, but I don't believe there needs to be a formal "mentoring" relationship, with weekly meetings or canned career advice. Ideally, it is more organic and satisfying. If you find someone you admire, cultivate the relationship by asking for that person's honest advice and guidance. Hopefully, you will have found a friend who will be rooting for you as you move up.

» EXPRESS: Suppose you work in a dictatorship, where it's arbitrary who's valued and who's not. Any way to get the boss' attention without ticking him off?
» BLACK: Do whatever you can to make your boss look good. Make sure you are prepared with answers for any questions she may have, and never surprise her. Give both good and bad news in a timely manner, and whenever you have a problem, try to suggest a solution. Your boss has a boss too, and helping her manage that relationship by being reliable and dependable will get you noticed.

» EXPRESS: It sounds counterintuitive to "seed a meeting," as you suggest, by getting "buy-in" or support from attendees ahead of time instead of presenting your ideas at the gathering. Are meetings not the place for new ideas?
» BLACK: I learned my lesson about getting buy-in in advance at my first board meeting for New York Magazine. I was publisher at the time and very comfortable being in "selling mode." When I got into the room, I started pitching like crazy. A colleague later told me that is not how things get done in board meetings.

His criticism stung at the time, but I realized he was right: the concept of getting buy-in in advance is all part of the idea that to be successful, you need to be very, very well prepared. Knowing that you have colleagues on your side in advance minimizes surprises later on.

» EXPRESS: Many of your suggestions for business — don't hold grudges, forgive yourself and others, learn from mistakes — could apply to personal life as well. Do the two go together?
» BLACK: Yes, these tips and lessons are not just for your life at work. It is all part of living a 360-degree life — fulfillment in all areas.

» EXPRESS: You've mentioned something called "the 360-degree life." Is that a 21st-century version of "having it all"?
» BLACK: "Having it all" is a phrase that was coined to denote one kind of life: a woman juggling a career and children at the same time. I believe that women today have varied priorities and, luckily, the flexibility to do things in stages. That is why the phrase used by Oprah Winfrey really says it best — "Live your best life" — and there are all kinds of ways to do that.

If your choice is to have a career and children at the same time, figure out the best way to make it work for you: Find a caregiver that you trust implicitly so that you can go to your office every day knowing your kids are in good hands, then carve out undisturbed time on the weekends and after work to be with them.

Maybe you prefer to take a hiatus from your career and raise children. Make that your priority, and when the kids have grown, think about how to live your best life at that point, and if that means returning to work, do it!
There are so many options today that didn't exist when the term "having it all" was first introduced. Take advantage of them, and live the life that works for you.

» EXPRESS: Overall, though, the book's advice seems geared more toward the driven business side, the numbers-crunching side. How can people in the more creative or people-oriented jobs use your experience as a guide?
» BLACK: The book is not at all geared to numbers crunching. My entire career has been surrounded by creative people. Anyone working inside or outside the home can benefit from practical, humorous, honest tips and strategies about how to make the most out of your workday and your life outside the office. Work is not enough: The only way to be fulfilled is by living a 360-degree life, with a rich existence outside of the office. That applies to women — and men — at all levels of their careers.

Written by Ellen Ryan for Express

Photos courtesy of Hearst Books