Editor’s letter
Lorraine Candy talks career and life advice
The best piece of work advice I have ever been given is also the best piece of life advice I’ve ever been given: ‘Just be you.’ Legendary magazine editor, Helen Gurley Brown who reinvented Cosmopolitan in 1965, gave me this advice during our first lunch together at London’s glamorous restaurant, The Ivy. Princess Diana sat at a table nearby, titans of the industry trooped in for important decision-making meetings and a sprinkling of the capital’s most fabulous feasted on the restaurant’s to-die-for shepherd’s pie. At the time, in 2001, it was almost impossible to get a table at The Ivy and, as the newly installed Editor In Chief of UK Cosmopolitan, I couldn’t quite believe I was there, let alone in my first big glossy editing role.
HGB, as we called her, was one of my magazine heroes. She gave women across the world a voice at a time when they were ignored, she campaigned hard for prochoice changes to the abortion law and for young women to have access to contraception, and she made it possible to talk about female sexuality. I learned a lot from her, but more than anything I learned how important it was to be happy at work and how hard it is to just be yourself. She also didn’t believe in work versus home. Ahead of her time, she advocated a blend of the two: that every part of your life should be nourished and enjoyed.
As the way in which women work changes across the globe, this month we asked several smart thinkers how they made sure they enjoyed their jobs (p190). It’s a fascinating read, packed with useful motivational advice. To make it even more helpful, I asked some of the women I know to talk me through their ‘happy life’ strategies.
Gail Bojarski, General Manager of UK and Eire Benefit Cosmetics, explained that loving the people you work with is as important as loving the job. I often marvel at how hard she works to make Benefit such an upbeat and positive office; Gail drives for laughs as hard as she drives for profit. It’s lovely to see this in action.
My friend, the actress and United Nations’ Women’s Advocate Meghan Markle, believes that cutting ‘drama’ out of your life makes you happier. ‘Take a step back, gain perspective on what’s happening, take it all with a pinch of salt and avoid adding unnecessary stress to your day.’ This is something I adhere to: as long as no one is going to die then it can’t be that traumatic, can it?
Editor Lindsay Nicholson, who runs the UK’s biggest magazine brand Good Housekeeping, makes the point that factoring in a way to help other people gives you added fulfilment at work – or the ‘karma payback’ as I call it.
Facebook’s Europe, Middle East and Africa Vice President Nicola Mendelsohn, a force of nature on the work front, advised me not to divide life between career and home. ‘Look at it as one complete whole. I write a life vision at the start of each year that includes my personal, work and community goals. I share it with my family and those I work for and with. Everyone understands what I am trying to achieve and then they can help me get there,’ she says.
I think we often overlook the softer side of ambition at work. All the studies I read now prove that emotional happiness is increasingly important in business: it’s as much about what you feel as what you do. Model Coco Rocha, who I’ve known for more than a decade and who runs her own company, told me a wonderful story that illustrates this: when a friend of Coco’s family died, they discovered he kept a daily diary in which he wrote down one positive thing that had happened that day. Coco now follows this mantra: ‘I find someone or something to be thankful for each day. At the end of a hard week, it gives me something to focus on and move towards.’
But perhaps the most interesting piece of advice I was offered for this Editor’s letter comes from Google’s Head of Marketing and powerhouse of a leader, Nishma Robb. She tells me that, for her, happy at work equals secure at work. ‘I want to feel safe in an environment where I can bring all of me to work everyday. This means an inclusive culture, safe to make mistakes and take risks, safe to be vulnerable at times, safe that I am operating in an honest and transparent environment and safe in the presence of colleagues,’ she explains.
Asking if you feel emotionally safe in this context at work is a good test of whether you are, or will be, happy there. I hope this is useful and I wish you all luck in your careers as summer comes to a close and we head into an autumn of new fashion and new ideas.