“Unfortunately, at that time there were very few women that held such a key position as she did. There was no woman up until she was featured on the cover of Business Week, that I think ever had a woman, a single woman, as a leader. And then the famous Drucker accolade, ‘the finest CEO in America.‘ And that, you know, was an incredible turning point, I'm sure, in Frances' career. But the important thing is, in the context of that period, there were not many women.
When I—I remember I was primarily looking for top Fortune 500 CEOs and there are only 5 of 500 and I interviewed all of them. Well, Frances was a not-for-profit, and also unusual, in that area, although the Girl Scouts, you might expect, would be. And so she stood out. And, I very much wanted to do an interview with exemplary leaders—people who are highly regarded an respected and who had achieved—who had very close to achieving their full aspirations and had an enduring track record. You know, it wasn't just an overnight flash and then, you know, a rising and then a quickly falling star.”
Comment by ThEME: Frances being on the cover of BusinessWeek and being called “The Finest CEO in America” by Peter Drucker garnered respect from the father of leadership, Warren Bennis.