Susan Lyne, who has won kudos for improving AOL's content as CEO of the company's Brand Group, talked to Forbes magazine about life lessons and the importance of showing vulnerability.
Lyne, 63, was formerly chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and president of ABC Entertainment, where she approved such pilots as "Desperate Housewives." As one of the media world's most influential women, she joined AOL in February to oversee content properties like AOL.com and TechCrunch. Over the summer, Lyne said she intends to expand AOL's live programming following the success of Huff/Post Live.
In an interview with Forbes, she talked about the importance of admitting what you don't know.
“It’s human instinct not to want to show any vulnerability,” describes Lyne. “As a result we play along. How many times do people let something pass when they could raise their hand and say I don’t get this? In business, it just happens constantly. We take for granted either that we will get it over time, or that it’s not seemly for someone who is in a senior position to say I don’t know, help.”
Lyne also spoke candidly about the loss of her husband, George Crile, to pancreatic cancer at the age of 61.
She told Forbes that, before his illness, she was the consummate multi-tasker, an approach to life that ultimately proved impossible to manage.
Now her main piece of advice to others: “Be Present.” For Lyne, that lesson “was the last gift my husband gave me, and it has been hugely valuable.” She said she even employs this lesson at work. “When I am with you now, I want you to be with me 100 percent,” she told Forbes. “You know, there’s not that much time, let’s take every minute of it.”
For more on Lyne's take on life, watch the video above.
Related
Before You Go
