Seducing the Boys Club: Uncensored Tactics from a Woman at the Top » (Reprint)

Nina DiSesa has worked in the quintessential boys clubs of advertising for almost thirty years. In 1994, she became the first woman EVP, Executive Creative Director for McCann Erickson New York, the flagship office of the largest advertising agency in the world. Under her creative leadership, the New York office enjoyed an unprecedented 5–year growth period adding almost $2.5 billion in billings. In 1998, she was made Chairman as well as Chief Creative Officer of McCann New York. She was the first woman and first creative director to be named chairman in the McCann global network.

In 1999, Nina was chosen by Fortune magazine as one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in American Business." In 2005, she received the Matrix Award, given each year to a select group of women in communication. In 2007, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame for CEBA (Creative Excellence in Business Advertising).

Nina and her husband live in an apartment in NYC and escape to their 45 in Dutchess County, New York.

Fact #1: Forty years after the feminist revolution, fewer than 2 percent of Fortune 1000 CEOs are women.
Fact #2: The playing field is not level.
Fact #3: You need to get over this.

From the woman who became chairman of the flagship office of the largest advertising agency network in the world comes a wry reality check on how to get ahead and thrive in the testosterone-driven business arena.

Nina DiSesa is a master communicator, a ceiling crasher, and one of the most successful women in the corporate world. She is also a big-time realist who has figured out that S&M-seduction and manipulation-is the secret to winning over (and surpassing) the big guys. In Seducing the Boys Club, DiSesa shows that you can, in fact, leave your male colleagues in the dust-but not by following the rules you learned in business school.
By playing the roles of den mother, fraternity brother, little sister, and hard-nosed boss, DiSesa navigated the choppy, macho-minded waters of the workplace. All the "bad boys" in her life-and there are many-have provided a wealth of devilishly amusing stories and cautionary tales that DiSesa is only too happy to pass on. Ah, revenge can be sweet, but the truth is that she came to love those boys as much as they love her-which is the whole point.

DiSesa asserts that women need to meld their feminine characteristics (nurturing, compassion, listening) with the traits of their male counterparts (competitiveness, decisiveness, combativeness) to expand their professional horizons. In Seducing the Boys Club, DiSesa shares her practical, outrageous, and even controversial maxims for making it, including:

• Learn to appreciate men. Menlike women who like them.
• Remember that women are biologically wired to succeed.
• If you want to make a name for yourself, find a mess and fix it. A secure and comfortable job only holds you back.
• Don't assume that men never listen. They listen like a dog does.
• Don't be a quiet achiever.
• Act brave and you will look brave.
• Screw the rules. Make up your own.

Whether dead-on funny or deadly serious, DiSesa is always on her game, always on message, and absolutely on target as she arms women with the can-do confidence and no-compromises attitude they need to climb as high as their ambition can carry them-while keeping their standards impeccable and their integrity intact. Not for women only, this book should be read by men, too . . . though it won't give them any defense against a woman who can truly seduce a boys club!

Publishers Weekly

Chairman of McCann Erickson New York, part of one of the largest advertising networks in the world, DiSesa delivers a one-on-one mentoring session on working with, competing against and managing both men and women. Confirming that her nature is to nurture, she is thoughtful and confessional as DiSesa looks back at how she learned to defy her own bad habits-including in-office meltdowns-and to substitute charm in their stead. DiSesa also readily shares insights gained from such nongender-based blunders as letting clients take a break in the middle of a presentation (the clients failed to return to the conference room). Though she refers to manipulating and seducing and learning to exhibit "male" behavior throughout, DiSesa's hard work, talent and insight into human nature appear to be the real drivers behind her success. That DiSesa has managed to package her experiences into accessible form creates a welcome opportunity for both women and men hoping to duplicate her success. (Feb.)

Foreword James Patterson ix

Screw Their Rules. Now Try Something Else xi

Part 1 Everything Counts 1

1 My Life Started in an Elevator 5

2 Hearts Trump Heads 21

3 Gentlemen vs. Hooligans 42

4 The Bad Boys on 27 57

Part 2 Don't Climb Mount Everest in Manolo Blahniks 75

5 She Cries, She Yells, She Melts, She Squeaks 79

6 It's Hard to Seduce Strangers 97

7 Clout Is Great. Get It. Use It 108

8 The Seven Deadly Sins in Boys Clubs 130

9 Reading Rooms and Other Handy Female Skills 149

10 Are Men Braver than Women? 157

Part 3 The Air Is Thin at the Top 169

11 How to Outmaneuver Men Who Outrank You 173

12 Woman on Top 197

Epilogue: How We Love a Happy Ending 215

And I Owe It All To... 217

E-mail, Websites, and Other Means of Venting 221

The Aftermath of a First Book 223