Today, I spoke to Elaine Meryl Brown, who is the coauthor of The Little Black Book of Success, and is the Vice President of Special Marketing in Creative Services at HBO. In this interview, Elaine talks about how to handle corporate politics, some successful networking strategies that she’s used to meet executives, how you can build confidence in yourself, how to avoid issues in the workplace, and more.
How do you navigate corporate politics?
The way I navigate corporate politics is by focusing on corporate objectives, providing direction to my creative team to help execute against these objectives, and building alliances with key people within the organization to help achieve these goals. In other words, the way I navigate politics is by understanding the corporate culture and being strategic.
What are some networking strategies you’ve used to meet executives and other successful people? 
I’ve used a variety of networking strategies to meet executives and successful people. For example, I’ve written letters. On one such occasion, my first meeting at HBO was with an executive whose picture, name and short bio I saw in an industry event program and I decided to write. As I promised to follow-up with a phone call in a week or so to get on his calendar, his assistant was expecting my call and she scheduled the meeting. Other than that, at networking or professional events, I usually introduce myself to people, exchange cards and/or ask for a brief meeting if I have something specific to discuss. Also, doing research on a person beforehand is a great way to lay the groundwork for a short conversation. It lets people know you’ve taken the time and have done your homework. I usually weave the facts I’ve learned about the person into our chat in a way that is organic. Most people are flattered when you Google them. I also email to set up short meetings, offering to bring coffee or tea. I’ve even sent flowers to get a person’s attention with hopes of getting a few minutes of their time. However, meeting people is usually not the challenge.
The challenging part is establishing a connection and staying in touch with them for the long haul. In fact, we say in our book, The Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black Women, that networking is a ‘contact sport’. You have to reach out and touch someone. I’ve sent newspaper/magazine articles to people who I think may be interested in the subject with a note that may say, ‘saw this and thought of you’. Or I’ll send a link to a trade piece that I think will be of value. I’ll invite people to events that I think may be of interest to them. Even if I think they may too busy to attend, that’s not the point. The point is that I reached out and touched someone. When you do this, people tend to remember you – even those who are successful executives.
How can someone build self-confidence in themself? What would you recommend? 
The first chapter in our book is “ Always Consider Yourself a VIP”. The reason for this is because we live in a society where people of color and women are not always valued, and some of us consciously or subconsciously transfer the notion that we are not valuable to beliefs of inferiority or inadequacy about ourselves. That’s why it’s incumbent upon us not to buy-into the negativity and negative self-talk that may be associated with these kinds of distractions, and to remember and to remind ourselves that we are very important people too. Subsequently, we must stay positive and fill ourselves with positive thoughts and thinking. We must change our minds to do this. When we change our mind-set, we change our behavior. When we change our behavior, our life changes. Affirmations and my spirituality have always helped me through time of self-doubt. Ultimately your thoughts will shape how you feel about yourself and determine your leadership success, moving forward.
In the workplace, how do people cope with stereotypes, racism, and ageism?
I only know how I cope with these things and how we advise people to cope with these things in our book. Basically, we tell people to be strategic and focus on achieving their goals and objectives. Often times, things like racism are used to distract us and throw us off course and we should not take it personally because racism is the result of some combination of ignorance, insecurity and evil. The old adage, ‘don’t make other people’s problems, your problems, applies here. In fact, in our book, we say use racism as a motivator. Instead of letting it frustrate you, get you down and defeat you, use it to make you stronger, more focused and determined to be successful. Whenever, I have encountered racism in the workplace, I’ve ignored it. It’s negative, non-productive energy that I want to avoid and I try to rise above it. I take the high road. When you have goals and objectives, it’s easier to go around, over, or under racism to achieve them as opposed to colliding with racism head-on. With goals, you don’t focus on the short term, but rather on the long-term. Of course, if the racism is blatant or at the point where it feels life-threatening, there is always legal action as a recourse. The other thing is to remember that you always have choices and if the 
environment you’re in is toxic, it may be time to move on. As far as ageism is concerned, change is inevitable so be prepared. People change, jobs change, styles change and situations change, and all these changes can prevent you from being stuck in a rut, or get you thinking about your options. Being open to change may lead you to more, better, or different opportunities.
How have you built your personal brand? How would you describe it?
I’ve built my personal brand by walking the walk and talking the talk – by being reliable, smart, strategic and developing creative that supports marketing and corporate strategies. My personal brand is based on honesty, integrity and authenticity, on being a strong communicator, team-player, manager, visionary, and risk-taker who takes advantage of opportunities to learn as much as possible and share with others. . My brand also includes having good relationships with senior management and a reputation for doing great work. I always dress neatly, but never want to look too conservative and have adapted a kind of Sex and the City Hi-Lo style, or ‘funky conservative’ look always feeling more comfortable in True Religions than St. John, but the latter suits me too. That’s how I want to be perceived – professional, yet fun. – classy yet not too serious. My leadership style tends to be open and collaborative, always attempting to challenge, develop and inspire the best in my team, regardless of color, gender or age. In fact, one of my direct reports commented that my leadership style is demanding yet fair. I took that as a compliment.
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Elaine Meryl Brown, is the coauthor of The Little Black Book of Success. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed debut novel Lemon City, is Vice President, Special Markets in Creative Services at HBO, where her many responsibilities include On-Air Promotion for HBO Family and HBO Latino, Off-Channel Subscriber Acquisitions Campaigns, Segment Marketing and Brand Promotion for Satellite Cable, and Content Creation for new media platforms. Prior to HBO, Elaine was a Creative Director in Creative Services at Showtime Networks. While at Showtime, Elaine also directed promotional campaigns with stars, including Sidney Poitier, Angelica Huston and Louis Gossett, Jr. She executive produced added value shows for Showtime Original Pictures as well. Elaine is a graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management Executive Leadership Development Program. She has earned many awards in the broadcast industry, including an Emmy Award for writing the critically acclaimed ABC-TV network series FYI, hosted by Hal Linden. She has also earned several Promax, BDA, Mark, CTAM and New York Film and TV Awards. Elaine began her writing career at Essence magazine and has written for other national publications such as Woman’s World. She is a Board Member of New Professional Theatre in New York City, a member of the President’s Commission Committee of Wheaton College in Massachusetts, and is professionally affiliated with several organizations including the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications, New York Women in Film & Television, PROMAX and CTAM. Elaine currently resides in New Jersey with her son, David. She encourages readers to visit her website at www.ElaineMerylBrown.com.
