Read Online Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead... But Gutsy Girls Do by Kate White - Free Book Online Page B

decided to make my presentation on rats— don't ask me why—and I prepared a grisly talk on thirteen things about rats you'd never heard. My favorite was the fact that if left alone in your basement, two rats could turn into a million in just a three-year period.
    I knew my talk would have the kids squirming and I decided to give it a twist Using an old fur coat from the attic and a piece of electric wire, I fashioned a life-size rat, which I hid in a paper bag behind the podium During my talk I could tell I had the class spellbound—a few students even looked nauseous. When I finished with my nasty rat facts, I told the class that I thought it would help if they had a first-hand look at what I'd been talking about. Then I pulled the lake rat out of the bag. Boys shrieked, girls squealed, and at least hall the class dived under their desks. And the nun? She sat there grinning from ear to ear.
    That was the first time I saw the impact of delivering the unexpected.
    One of my oldest friends is Merrie Spaeth, who runs Spaeth Communications, Inc., in Dallas and was formerly President Reagan's media adviser. She believes that rule breaking shouldn't be limited to how you handle the responsibilities of your job. Her philosophy: “I think there are some situations that call for doing something gutsy with your personal behavior.”
    It's hard to give any specific advice here. You just have to let yourself get a feel for certain situations and decide if a gutsy, unexpected move on your pan could prove to be an advantage. A friend of mine says that a turning point in her career occurred the day she had to give a speech about her area to a group of top managers whom she had never dealt with before. A few minutes before going on she decided not to stand behind the podium but to take the mike and deliver her presentation from the middle of the floor. Not hiding behind the podium forced everyone's attention on her and infused her presentation with energy and spontaneity From that day forward, she said, she was on the fast track in the eyes of management.
    Earlier in Merrie Spaeth's career, a colleague arranged for her to meet the laic William Paley, founder and retired CEO of CBS, who was looking for someone to write his speeches. She was warned, however. Paley could be difficult and stubborn, and he had already gone through a bunch of male speech-writers, even though they had been deferential and eager to please. And by the way, she was told, you never called him anything but Mr. Paley.
    Merrie listened and realized that if she was going to win him over, she would have to seem in command, unlike the yes-men When she walked through the door to meet Paley for the first time, she stuck out her hand and said. “Hi. Bill, I'm Merrie Spaeth ” He chuckled and it was the beginning of a great relationship.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Strategy #2: A Gutsy Girl Has One Clear Goal for the Future
    A couple of weeks after I signed the contract to write this book, there was a brief moment when I wondered if the publisher was going to call me and say that they still loved the idea for the book, but would I mind if Janet Reno actually wrote it. She'd just taken the heat for the FBI's Waco, Texas, fiasco, even though she wasn't really to blame. It was a refreshingly different tactic for a politician and the media loved it. A newspaper ran her picture with just the word GUTS over it. Janet Reno seemed to be the epitome of the gutsy girl.
    A year later, however, the media wasn't being so flattering. In fact, the New York Times published a story with this headline: DRIFT AND TURMOIL IN JUSTICE DEPT: AURA OF CONFUSION LINKED TO ATTORNEY GENERAL'S PERFORMANCE .
    Here's a highlight from the article:
These officials say the Attorney General has seemed indecisive, losing focus by taking on too many issues, hop-scotching from project to project… . The officials, including some who say they hope she succeeds, insist the public impression of Ms. Reno as the gutsy Florida