Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-04
PREPARATION NEEDED
IN BUSINESS SUCCESS
Mary Dillon Declares All Young Men
and Women Should Fit Selves
for the Job Ahead.

business world7" I inquired "Oh, yesl~
replied Miss Dillon. 1T has been
good thing for women and good thing
for business. 1t is Just the most nat
ural thing that should be-juSt part
of our social and industrial evolution.
Not all women, of course, should go into
business, but for those who like 1t, or
whose life situations compel them TO
work for q living, a business life In Just
as natural for a woman as for . man,
and think 1t has been a good thing
both for the spirit Of women and for
the spirit of business"
DO you think women have made
business more honest?' inquired.
mo, / don't, simply because I don't
believe there Is very much dishonesty
in business. Dishonesty in business y
so rare that 1t makes big scare headlines
in the newspapers. The vast mass Of
people, the rank and file, are honest; they
just naturally want to do right, and do
do right. Women are neither more
honest nor dishonest, think, than men.
They both want to play square rs
rule"
do you think women make as good
executives as men?"
Certainly, where they become ex-
ecutives at all. There are five tests Of
any executive, whether man or woman.
You may say dividends are ths sole
test, but that is not true; they are only
one test. The first test, should say,
is the state of the property. Is 1t
spick and span, up to date, in good re-
pair and working order? The second
test is the state of mind Of the
employees. Are they happy IN their
work; do they like the company, their
relations with each other, their relations
with the public2
g.
1.-The third test is the attitude Of the
not sound and healthy there Is some
thing wrong. The fourth test Is the
rate of profits. OF course, the stock
holders have q right TO expect the
property to pay dividends. but dividends
depend largely on the tests I have al-
ready mentioned.
1.-THE fifth test Of q successful ex-
ecutive Is the capacity to plan and look
ahead. We hear a good deal now Of
the five-year plan for this and that. A
successful executive works every day OF
his life with q five or ten year plan Ia
his head. Sometimes he must think
20 years ahead, and even think Of the
| next generation. might add also that
IL you are going to be q manager you
must be manager. That does not mean
O. commanding, loud-voice attitude; It
merely means you must carry your
plans and the board of directors and
stockholders, on the one hand, and your
employees, on the other, with you by
the sheer logical benefit and efficiency
of your own plans. An executive should
not have to fight and argue for his course
of action. If you allow your plan TO
come to an argument your plan is lost.
Arguments are rarely won by anybody
A plan put over by force Of argument
isn't a good pan. The opposite party
is of the same opinion still, whether Il
be a man or woman.
Summing 1t all up. If q woman looks
at a business career in the general
spirit that have triad to bring out by
these remarks and goes into IL because
she likes it and wants to do 1t and
finds joy and adventure in it from It's
humblest beginnings In some minor
routine job up to an executive position,
then I would repeat that think it Is
good thing for the women and good
thing for business for such women to
go to into business career"