ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702070003
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WALNUT CREEK, CALIF.
SOURCE: MARA DER HOVANESIAN KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
As a bank manager, Shirley W. Nelson ran up against an administrative brick wall when lobbying for a $20 salary increase for an employee. The flippant response from her boss was that she'd have to wait to own the bank across the street to make those decisions.
So Nelson did just that: She opened her own bank across the street.
One of the few female chief executive officers in the banking industry, Nelson is now chairwoman of the board for Oakland-based Summit Bank, with $85 million in assets.
``It honestly never occurred to me that it wouldn't work,'' Nelson said. ``It wasn't even a part of my thinking. I was always taught to believe in myself. I was told I can do anything, if I want to do it bad enough.''
What makes successful businesswomen like Nelson tick is the focus of a new book, ``The Eleven Commandments of Wildly Successful Women'' by Pamela Boucher Gilberd. The book draws on 125 interviews with women, including Nelson, in a range of industries, from publishing to fashion, retailing to construction. The stories touch on the business strategies and personal philosophies of do-it-yourself female executives across the country.
``We learn by example. We get inspired by stories, and that's what this book is about,'' Gilberd said recently.
Each chapter of Gilberd's book contains testimonials, as well as lists of tips provided by the experts. Each chapter is also complemented with a self-test questionnaire to help professional women explore their potential and become more effective in developing a career. An appendix of women's business and professional organizations and resource groups is also included.
``I think women are starting to tell their stories about what has been denied, and how they had to find strength in the midst of adversity,'' said Audrey Rice Oliver. ``They are taking pen to paper and revealing their inner strengths and truths.''
Oliver, president and chief executive officer of the $10 million-plus Integrated Business Solutions Inc., based in San Ramon, Calif., is introduced by Gilberd in a chapter about cultivating a positive attitude. Oliver, once a secretary for the Denver transportation authority, now runs a successful consulting company specializing in minority procurement. She was recognized as running one of California's Best Women-Owned Businesses by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1992.
``I don't believe there's any such thing as failure,'' Oliver said. ``What you may run into are challenges; challenges redirect you. Usually the fear of taking a step forward seems very risky to most. But once they step out of that circle, onto the path, success is guaranteed. The success will come just having taken the risk.''
Gilberd, an English literature major in college, has also faced odds stacked against her in professional life. The former model and pilot became general manager for Basta Sole in Oakland, Calif., in 1982, designing and marketing a product line of designer umbrellas. She was responsible for developing a booming trade for the wood-framed, canvas-top ``market umbrellas'' and for creating a private-label business for upscale retailers, including Smith & Hawken, Williams-Sonoma and Gardener's Eden.
But when the recession forced Basta Sole to reorganize 10 years later, Gilberd lost her job.
``I was devastated. When I lost my job as the umbrella lady, we had four children in college and my husband was out of work,'' Gilberd said. ``It makes you develop more, it makes you become stronger.''
That's when Gilberd decided to write a book about women for women. It took three years and 24 book proposal rejections. But she said what kept her going was ``the hunger quotient,'' a common character trait found in the women she profiled.
``It will take time, it may take more education and it will take all your money. But success is feeling good about who you are,'' she said. ``My success is sharing these stories, because I know they're going to make a difference.''
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart. color.by CNB