Several D.C. women at the top give a quick pep talk to those who would succeed them

Megan Bloomgren came to hear from the Alpha Women.

At 30, she is an Alpha Woman-in-waiting -- former class president (high school and college), a presidential campaign veteran who has worked at a White House council, the Department of Energy and now the Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy. Someday, this up-and-comer is going to be a power player herself in The World's Most Powerful Pretty Big Town.

But Thursday night she came to learn from the women already there -- leaders in media, politics and business in a city still dominated by guys who play hoops with the president.

What was unusual was the format: 10-minute "speed-dating" encounters with the Alphas. "Minute Mentoring," as it was called, looked like the first McDonald's wisdom drive-through.

Betsy Fischer, executive producer of "Meet the Press," got right to the point in her hurried huddle with Bloomgren: "Anticipate what your boss is looking for." "Nip problems in the bud before they escalate." "Be prepared; never wing it."

Bloomgren, already a master at preparation, had arrived with a dossier on the 15 mentors, including CNN's Candy Crowley, NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, Vanity Fair's Dee Dee Myers, public-relations titan Margery Kraus, former Laura Bush chief of staff Anita McBride and Feminist Majority founder Eleanor Smeal.

"What do you read every day?" asked Bloomgren, her notebook at the ready. Fischer, mindful that the time's-up bell was going to ring, reeled off her answer: The Washington Post, the New York Times, NBC's First Read, ABC's the Note and other Internet news sites.

The event was the idea of Dana Perino, press secretary to former president George W. Bush. Young women are hungry for advice on how to succeed, and women who have climbed the career ladder want to help but time is precious, she said. So, Perino set the clock and asked the bipartisan group of stars to quickly impart their top tips.

These were hers: "Don't be afraid to move," "turn off the TV and read" and "establish an exercise routine early in life."

Perino, who hit the elliptical trainer at 4:30 a.m. when she worked in the White House, kicked off the event by saying a lot can get done quickly. She recalled how she sometimes got only a minute or two with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a White House hallway.

The event was not open to the public because, Perino said, she thought it could not accommodate all who would want to attend. It was free to those invited, many of whom worked on Capitol Hill or had met one of the mentors. Perino said she is trying to figure out how to expand "Minute Mentoring" and even bring it to other cities.

Former U.S. congresswoman and super-lobbyist Susan Molinari, another mentor, said women need to stop second-guessing one another's choices, especially those of working mothers, and instead say, "Hallelujah, sister!"