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American Morning

Interview With Author Gail Evans

Aired May 06, 2003 - 09:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: This morning we're joined by author and former CNN executive vice president Gail Evans. Evans' first book was written to help women understand how men do business, and now, Evans is taking empowerment to the very next level. The new book is called "She Wins, You Win."
Gail Evans joins me now. So, Gail, tell me. Do women really have to stick together in order to make it through the business world?

GAIL EVANS, AUTHOR, "SHE WINS, YOU WIN": Women need to learn how to play on a team, and the team they need to learn to play on is the women's team. We need to learn that when Heidi succeeds, Gail succeeds a little. And if Heidi fails, Gail fails a little, and that we are connected, and we have never learned that.

COLLINS: Now, it sounds lovely, but I don't -- I don't see it.

EVANS: Well, we're going to have to learn it. If we wait around, women keep complaining, I don't have enough power, I work so hard, I am not getting ahead of the rest. The missing ingredient for us is we're not helping each other get ahead, and if we're waiting for one day when somebody is going to turn around and say women don't have enough power in this marketplace, we need to adjust it, I think we're making a big mistake. It doesn't happen that way, power is not a gift.

COLLINS: So how does it happen?

EVANS: I think for women, what is going to have to happen is -- there are a lot of very good, smart women out there. We have to learn the lessons of taking care of each other, when you get ahead you have to reach your hand back and make sure you are mentoring other women. When you get ready to make a decision about where you are putting your business, I ask you, do you consider a woman? You don't have to give your business to a woman, but do you actually even put a woman in consideration? It is like a kind of affirmative action we have to do for ourselves (UNINTELLIGIBLE) waiting for somebody.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: What about if you are in a leadership role as a woman and then you have an opportunity to hire a woman, what if that woman isn't quite qualified? Do you...

EVANS: Well, you don't hire anybody who is not qualified, but you hire the most qualified person, but do you actually look to see if the women are qualified? How are women going to get ahead if we are not looking for them?

COLLINS: What if a man is better qualified, though?

EVANS: Well, then, hire the man.

COLLINS: OK. All right.

EVANS: But I mean -- if you are out there looking, you are going to find good women occasionally, and it is going to make a difference.

COLLINS: Why is this the book that men don't want women to read?

EVANS: Well, I don't actually believe that. I actually believe that...

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I didn't say that, by the way, all right?

(CROSSTALK)

EVANS: I actually believe that when women start playing the game together, we are going to level out the playing field a little, and the guys are going to like it better. I think Mr. Hemmer will tell that I love playing with the boys, and women who get along well in the business world are women who can work well with both women and men...

COLLINS: Sure.

EVANS: ... but until we play our game smarter together, we're not going to get up to the point where it's equal playing field.

COLLINS: Right. And you do talk a lot about the game, and the rules, and the team. Do women need to make up their own rules then?

EVANS: Well, I think there are a lot of things that are different about what we need out of the workplace, and we need to adjust the rules so that they work for us.

COLLINS: OK. That makes sense to me. So now, if women -- we see that they are not playing on the same time very often right now. If I go back to work tomorrow, what is it that I can do concretely, right away, to make some sort of difference?

EVANS: Well, certainly, financially the way you can make a difference, revenue-wise, if you are the person who buys the mugs for your office...

COLLINS: I might be.

EVANS: Do you actually look to see if there is a woman-owned company that makes the mugs, or there is a saleswoman, and put her in the list of people that are competing for the bid?

Do you -- there are 100 young women out here who want to become you. Are you out there mentoring and helping them to understand the good stuff as well as the bad stuff about what you do as a job? There are a million and one little ways which I try to point out in which we can help each other, but we have to do it actively.

COLLINS: And women will only make it if we make it together.

EVANS: Right. As individuals...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: ... about that -- women power...

(CROSSTALK)

EVANS: I never want to hear again about one woman.

HEMMER: These themes that you rattled off at the top, do you believe that's why men have been successful?

EVANS: Oh, yes, you are great team players.

HEMMER: Sticking together, being brothers in the bond?

EVANS: Absolutely. You wound each other and then go out for a drink and keep on playing. When we get in a disagreement, we kill each other and never want to be in the same room with each other again.

COLLINS: It's nasty.

HEMMER: We call that a cat fight.

EVANS: Wait a second, I don't like this. You learned how to fight as little boys. We learned that nice girls don't fight.

HEMMER: Interesting.

COLLINS: I didn't learn that.

(CROSSTALK)

EVANS: That is why Heidi is where she is.

COLLINS: No. All right. Gail Evans, thank you so much for being with us. "She Wins, You Win." We appreciate it very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired May 6, 2003 - 09:49   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: This morning we're joined by author and former CNN executive vice president Gail Evans. Evans' first book was written to help women understand how men do business, and now, Evans is taking empowerment to the very next level. The new book is called "She Wins, You Win."
Gail Evans joins me now. So, Gail, tell me. Do women really have to stick together in order to make it through the business world?

GAIL EVANS, AUTHOR, "SHE WINS, YOU WIN": Women need to learn how to play on a team, and the team they need to learn to play on is the women's team. We need to learn that when Heidi succeeds, Gail succeeds a little. And if Heidi fails, Gail fails a little, and that we are connected, and we have never learned that.

COLLINS: Now, it sounds lovely, but I don't -- I don't see it.

EVANS: Well, we're going to have to learn it. If we wait around, women keep complaining, I don't have enough power, I work so hard, I am not getting ahead of the rest. The missing ingredient for us is we're not helping each other get ahead, and if we're waiting for one day when somebody is going to turn around and say women don't have enough power in this marketplace, we need to adjust it, I think we're making a big mistake. It doesn't happen that way, power is not a gift.

COLLINS: So how does it happen?

EVANS: I think for women, what is going to have to happen is -- there are a lot of very good, smart women out there. We have to learn the lessons of taking care of each other, when you get ahead you have to reach your hand back and make sure you are mentoring other women. When you get ready to make a decision about where you are putting your business, I ask you, do you consider a woman? You don't have to give your business to a woman, but do you actually even put a woman in consideration? It is like a kind of affirmative action we have to do for ourselves (UNINTELLIGIBLE) waiting for somebody.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: What about if you are in a leadership role as a woman and then you have an opportunity to hire a woman, what if that woman isn't quite qualified? Do you...

EVANS: Well, you don't hire anybody who is not qualified, but you hire the most qualified person, but do you actually look to see if the women are qualified? How are women going to get ahead if we are not looking for them?

COLLINS: What if a man is better qualified, though?

EVANS: Well, then, hire the man.

COLLINS: OK. All right.

EVANS: But I mean -- if you are out there looking, you are going to find good women occasionally, and it is going to make a difference.

COLLINS: Why is this the book that men don't want women to read?

EVANS: Well, I don't actually believe that. I actually believe that...

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I didn't say that, by the way, all right?

(CROSSTALK)

EVANS: I actually believe that when women start playing the game together, we are going to level out the playing field a little, and the guys are going to like it better. I think Mr. Hemmer will tell that I love playing with the boys, and women who get along well in the business world are women who can work well with both women and men...

COLLINS: Sure.

EVANS: ... but until we play our game smarter together, we're not going to get up to the point where it's equal playing field.

COLLINS: Right. And you do talk a lot about the game, and the rules, and the team. Do women need to make up their own rules then?

EVANS: Well, I think there are a lot of things that are different about what we need out of the workplace, and we need to adjust the rules so that they work for us.

COLLINS: OK. That makes sense to me. So now, if women -- we see that they are not playing on the same time very often right now. If I go back to work tomorrow, what is it that I can do concretely, right away, to make some sort of difference?

EVANS: Well, certainly, financially the way you can make a difference, revenue-wise, if you are the person who buys the mugs for your office...

COLLINS: I might be.

EVANS: Do you actually look to see if there is a woman-owned company that makes the mugs, or there is a saleswoman, and put her in the list of people that are competing for the bid?

Do you -- there are 100 young women out here who want to become you. Are you out there mentoring and helping them to understand the good stuff as well as the bad stuff about what you do as a job? There are a million and one little ways which I try to point out in which we can help each other, but we have to do it actively.

COLLINS: And women will only make it if we make it together.

EVANS: Right. As individuals...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: ... about that -- women power...

(CROSSTALK)

EVANS: I never want to hear again about one woman.

HEMMER: These themes that you rattled off at the top, do you believe that's why men have been successful?

EVANS: Oh, yes, you are great team players.

HEMMER: Sticking together, being brothers in the bond?

EVANS: Absolutely. You wound each other and then go out for a drink and keep on playing. When we get in a disagreement, we kill each other and never want to be in the same room with each other again.

COLLINS: It's nasty.

HEMMER: We call that a cat fight.

EVANS: Wait a second, I don't like this. You learned how to fight as little boys. We learned that nice girls don't fight.

HEMMER: Interesting.

COLLINS: I didn't learn that.

(CROSSTALK)

EVANS: That is why Heidi is where she is.

COLLINS: No. All right. Gail Evans, thank you so much for being with us. "She Wins, You Win." We appreciate it very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com