????已故時尚傳奇海倫?格雷?布朗與凱西?布萊克在出版巨頭赫斯特（Hearst）共事時曾對她說過：“我已經過了退休的年齡。”布萊克領導赫斯特雜志14年之久，直到2010年，而布朗80多歲時還是備受《時尚》（Cosmopolitan）雜志社尊崇的女家長。

????布朗本周一逝世，享年90歲，《時尚》雜志并不是她創立的，但正是她1965-1997年擔任該雜志編輯期間的功績才使它成了當今全美銷量最高的月刊，在全球各地擁有64個地區性版本。她那令人迷醉的工作風格（她的辦公室墻壁刷成紫色，鋪著豹紋地毯）和敢于挑戰世俗的內容（“有趣、無畏、女性”是《時尚》的箴言），使人們往往忽視她在商業經營上的真才實干。其實，同事們從布朗那里學到的管理經驗影響深遠，并不僅限于出版世界。凱西?布萊克為我們講述了她從海倫?格雷?布朗那里學來的最重要的三個管理經驗：

????對事業充滿激情——竭盡所能做到盡善盡美。“海倫相信，不管職務多么微不足道，只要帶著激情工作，在朝九晚五之外也愿意投入精力，機會之門總會為你打開，”布萊克說。這個信條對布朗本人很有幫助，據報道，她做過好幾份秘書工作，之后才有機會撰寫廣告文案。海倫本人的經驗也不得不提：她在博達大橋廣告公司（Foote Cone & Belding）當秘書時，曾給老板的妻子撰寫旅游指南，其作品細節豐富多彩、令人眼花繚亂，以至于后者極力說服老板提拔海倫當廣告文案寫手。

????平等待人。“海倫談起別人總是說：‘你永遠都不知道他們有多大潛力，也不知道他們將來會有多大的成就。’”不吝稱贊、樂于認同和尊重他人——包括任何級別的員工，這就是布朗的領導策略。布萊克回憶說：“她從來不覺得有什么贊揚太過分。”

????親切而明確。布朗長期堅持用她那值得信賴的Royal打字機寫信——高峰時期每周寫數百封，晚年也有幾十封。每個月，她都會評論《時尚》全球各地的版本。看不懂某些版本的文字不要緊，她可以評價版式、照片和排版，并給相關人員發備忘錄，指出下次如何如何做得更好。用布萊克的話說：“海倫愿意花時間與人們親切溝通——現在已沒有人這么做了。”

????譯者：小宇

????"Retirement passed me by," the late great Helen Gurley Brown told Cathie Black back when the two worked together at Hearst. Black headed Hearst Magazines for 14 years until 2010, while Brown, into her 80s, was the ever-present grand dame of Cosmopolitan.

????Brown, who died on Monday at 90, didn't invent Cosmo, but as its editor from 1965 to 1997, she created the wonder that is now the top-selling U.S. monthly magazine, with 64 customized editions around the world. Her intoxicating work style (her office had pink walls and leopard carpeting) and provocative content ("fun, fearless, female" is Cosmo's motto) diverted attention from the reality that Brown had bona fide business chops. And the management lessons that colleagues took from Brown transcend the publishing world. Cathie Black offers three of the best lessons she learned from Helen Gurley Brown:

????Care passionately about what you do—and do it the best you possibly can. "Helen believed no matter how small your job, if you approach it with passion and work beyond 9 to 5, doors will open for you," Black says. The credo paid off for Brown, who reportedly had a slew of secretarial jobs before she moved up to writing ads. Helen's break: At Foote Cone & Belding ad agency, she wrote such colorfully detailed, dazzling travel itineraries for her boss's wife that the wife coaxed him to promote Helen from secretary to copywriter.

????Treat everyone the same. "Helen said about people, 'You never know who they are. You never know what they will become.'" Heaping kudos, recognition and respect on people--employees at every level--was Brown's leadership approach. "She never thought any amount of praise was too much," says Black.

????Be personal and specific. Using her trusty Royal typewriter, Brown wrote letters constantly--hundreds each week in her heyday and dozens weekly in her later years. Each month, she critiqued Cosmo's editions around the world. No matter that she couldn't read the language; she appraised the layout, the photos, the typography of each edition and sent notes advising how to do a better job next time. Says Black: "Helen took the time to communicate in a way that no one does today."