Everything Phyllis Yaffe knows about negotiation started with trying to talk her way out of a parking fee.

‘We felt that we weren’t aggressive enough in the tough world out there, so we went to a negotiation course,’ says longtime friend and onetime coworker Annabel Slaight. ‘We had to do things like negotiate our way out of the parking lot and get a reduced rate on the parking. We started out thinking that negotiating was a bit rude, and Phyllis turned out to be the best at that. She probably had the instincts, but they were hidden behind her good upbringing!’

Slaight has seen Yaffe blossom over the past 25 years. They first met when Slaight and the other founders of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre hired Yaffe as the centre’s first executive director. After Yaffe worked at the Association of Canadian Publishers, Slaight hired her at Owl as vp of marketing, despite her comprehensive lack of relevant experience. ‘[She had] no experience in marketing, but I knew she would be terrific for that job. [She had] marketing instincts.’

The position at Owl was pivotal in introducing Yaffe to the world of television. ‘Owl was involved in children’s publishing and children’s television, so we were doing magazines, books and television. We were one of the first companies in Canada to be doing a variety of media things which were interconnected and were, in fact, the beginnings of a brand. She was involved a bit in the television business, so she was getting to know people in that industry.

‘She’s a tremendous learner. She is very quick at picking things up, [but] at the same time, not taking herself too seriously, which I think is her real charm. She is just the same Phyllis as she always was even though her job capacity – what she is accomplishing now – is just huge.

‘Being her friend requires you to always be nimble of mind. She is very stimulating. Phyllis does not operate on a hierarchical basis, other than whether people are bright and amusing and enjoyable.

‘One of the things that Phyllis and I always enjoyed was that we laughed so hard,’ says Slaight. ‘There is probably more to life than laughing, but it certainly is a wonderful experience to work with someone that you can have such a warm and funny time with.

‘Phyllis always, no matter how difficult the challenge, made it look easy.

‘Phyllis says that I taught her quite a lot, but anything I gave Phyllis in terms of experience or wisdom has been given back to me many times over.’