It is common knowledge now that there has not always been equality in the workplace for women and men. In previous years, men have had it easier than women in terms of being successful in the workplace and becoming CEOs in companies. Although the struggles of millions of women in the past 30 years or so may seem like ancient history to some, it is not something that should be forgotten. Those who have experienced the changes over these decades are important sources of information and can help to educate future businesswomen, which is what this book aims to do.
The foreword of this book is written by Anne Mulcahy, Former Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation, and seems to be a fitting way to begin the book. This part of the book puts the topic into context and provides some information about both Becky and Anne. Anne’s words are quite inspirational and highlight how so many women lack the confidence they need when it comes to working in the world of business. The foreword ends with Anne advising women to embrace any challenges they come across and to make their own opportunities.
The rest of the book is written by Becky Blalock, starting with the introduction. The introduction is written in the first person and is an effective way to explain the changes that women have experienced in the world of work in the past years. The author provides examples of things she has come across and gives her own take on what the situation used to be like. Starting from the 1970’s, the author explains that most women who went into education were studying to become either a teacher or nurse and many used the process of education to find a suitable husband. In the 1980’s, not much had changed, and there was even a myth that women could not do math. Although after this stage the author does not go into much detail about the changes that occurred, anyone reading will know that things are different nowadays. Instead, the author turns to what she believes to be the key to success for a woman.
Reflecting upon the introduction, the message being put across is the importance of daring to be brave and say yes. Although the author’s personal experience reflects how the outcome of taking risks can be positive, she acknowledges that she felt huge amounts of self-doubt when asked to be a Chief Information Officer but instead of taking a step back and remaining in a place of comfort in her organisation, she took the risk and accepted the job. According to the author, it is the experience of working outside of your comfort zone that provides one with the skills needed to be a successful leader. This message is reflected in the main chapters of the book too.
Throughout the book, each chapter focuses on and explains how important it is to dare. The author includes relevant examples of successful businesswomen (or “mentors” as they are referred to in the book) in well-known organisations; in particular, their thoughts and experiences of how they dared to do something and how this was usually the turning point in their careers. From dealing with failures to realising an opportunity was one they should take, there are dozens of accounts from businesswomen. These provide the reader with a better understanding of how useful each chapter of the book is and what kinds of experiences each chapter will help with. Although for general readers who are not experts in the area and are not familiar with the businesswomen mentioned, the desired impact of including these examples may not be so effective. The appendix deals with this problem by including a paragraph on each mentor but it could have potentially been more useful to include some of this information within text.
Chapter 1 states that the first step to moving up the career ladder is to define a personal goal and identify an exact aim. Writing a personal vision statement is also something that should be thought about. This includes steps and goals for each year in the organisation and encourages the individual to really create a clear vision for themselves. The author believes that putting the goal in writing allows the individual to think of it more tangibly rather than seeing the goal as just an idea.
A key aspect of doing this is keeping short term goals in mind, and saying no to things that are not going to help them reach their next goal. However, the vision also needs to be flexible too, so that it does not prevent the individual from rejecting great opportunities that come along. The author deals with this issue by giving appropriate explanations of when it is useful to say yes and when it is useful to move on, which is a topic that is difficult to address and usually ignored by other books. The author states that a good balance must be found between a vision statement that allows someone to say yes to useful opportunities but also say no to those that they do not need. Any goals that are decided upon must be consistent with the core values of the individual; otherwise it is much less likely to follow through with the goal.
The following chapters deal with topics of daring to know yourself, daring to stand out and to project a confident attitude. Chapter 6 focuses on the aspect of dealing with failure as this is one of the main things that most people struggle with when trying to reach their goals. Although this is something we all worry about happening to us, it is not always such a bad thing. Failure allows people to develop experience and to recognise that they can recover when things do not go according to plan. Part of this chapter focuses on the ‘secret resume’ which is the list of mistakes an individual has made throughout their career. According to the author, this secret resume allows the individual to realise that although it is not a pleasant moment to be reminded of personal failures, these failures have more than likely led to important lessons being learnt. Examples of failures and mistakes mentioned in the text are things such as reassigning an important role to someone last-minute, not verifying figures and not planning projects in terms of time. The following chapters focus on the importance of daring to reach out, to be more than the boss and to be there for others.
Although the book is written mostly for women in middle-management of companies who want to become Chief Executive Officers, all women would benefit from reading this book. The main thing that seems to be missing from this book is relevant activities for the reader to complete after each chapter, to encourage the reader to really reflect upon everything they have learnt and apply it to themselves. Despite this, anyone that needs help in reaching a goal within an organisation, whether starting out or already on their way to the top, can learn something useful from taking the time to read this book. I, for one, am incredibly inspired by the women included in this book and by their willingness to dare to take risks. This book will inspire women to say yes more and to believe in themselves when given an exciting new opportunity.
