She's one of the most influential women in the business world, overseeing dozens of magazines—including O, The Oprah Magazine—as president of Hearst Magazines. And now, Cathie Black's sharing her secrets of corporate success in her new book, Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life). Gayle talks to Cathie about the book and about her career.

Cathie says her book is written with business women in their 30s in mind, a group that she says will most likely benefit from her years of experience. "[It's] a motivational, practical, honest and straight-forward kind of guide … for a girl or a young woman who is sort of going through all of the kinds of things that are so normal for someone in business," she says. From conducting productive meetings to recognizing co-workers' attitude types, Cathie says her personal stories are meant to educate and motivate readers.

The book also addresses some of the mistakes Cathie says she has made during her career, an aspect of her professional life that she says is important. "When I share the sort of mistakes or stumbles along the way, it is for somebody to understand that these things are not life-threatening," she says. "You kind of pick up from them and you move forward and you try to make the best judgments and decisions that you can and you go forward."

Cathie attributes part of her success to her ability to maintain professionalism at all times and not taking anything work-related personally. "Keep things professional as much as you can," she says. "If you become a boss, you know you really can't be out drinking with everybody who works for you."