From Publishers Weekly
"I never wanted to work in business," writes Heffernan. Twenty years after expressing that sentiment, as CEO of a technology company, she found herself "having the time of my life" and wondered whether she had "completely lost my mind? Or sold my soul?" Heffernan sees "women creating a new business order that places values at the heart of business, takes sustainability seriously, and recognizes that business is and always will be emotional." Eleven chapters are peppered with her own illustrative anecdotes and insights plus those of 63 career women representing a wide variety of positions and professions. These contain instructive descriptions of potential pitfalls and urgent advice, each one ending with a list of "Travel Thoughts" to keep in mind. Readers are told how to climb the corporate ladder, maintain a female identity, navigate toxic environments, see through common fallacies, acquire power, balance work with personal life, break into top management, assert autonomy, strike out on their own and reinvent a "parallel universe" of humanitarian alternatives. Nothing is new or told in a fresh way, but Heffernan delivers the catalogue of female careerist frustration succinctly and sympathetically. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
This book is fresh, honest, and compelling--if only for the dozens of women (and some men!) whose lives and thoughts are excerpted here. What Heffernan--an ex-CEO, consultant, speaker, and former BBC television producer--has compiled is the story of women in corporate America today, who, despite all the hype and hyperbole, have not progressed as far and as fast as has been predicted. Women hold 8 percent of executive titles and 9.9 percent of line positions: statistics revealing the true state of affairs. Frankly autobiographical, the author also shares the experiences of others; specific issues include stereotyping (calling someone a "geisha," "bitch," "guy," or just plain "invisible"), toxic bosses and hostile environments, power, a well-balanced and whole life, exits, career paths, and, ultimately, becoming an internal change agent. There is much good advice (remember to "leave smart") and much to think about, including provocative questions at each chapter's end called "Travel Thoughts." Reassurance--and a reaffirmation. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“…purports to identify the four types of women who populate office life” (The Guardian, 8th November 2004)

“…Heffernan’s book gives strategies for dealing with toxic bosses and misogynistic environments…” (The Times T2, 2nd November 2004)

“…she (the author) perceptively dissects the nature of power and its source…” (Management Today, November 2004)

“…thought-provoking book …” (Western Daily Press – Bristol, 27 October 2004)

"I never wanted to work in business," writes Heffernan. Twenty years after expressing that sentiment, as CEO of a technology company, she found herself "having the time of my life" and wondered whether she had "completely lost my mind? Or sold my soul?" Heffernan sees "women creating a new business order that places values at the heart of business, takes sustainability seriously, and recognizes that business is and always will be emotional." Eleven chapters are peppered with her own illustrative anecdotes and insights plus those of 63 career women representing a wide variety of positions and professions. These contain instructive descriptions of potential pitfalls and urgent advice, each one ending with a list of "Travel Thoughts" to keep in mind. Readers are told how to climb the corporate ladder, maintain a female identity, navigate toxic environments, see through common fallacies, acquire power, balance work with personal life, break into top management, assert autonomy, strike out on their own and reinvent a "parallel universe" of humanitarian alternatives. Nothing is new or told in a fresh way, but Heffernan delivers the catalogue of female careerist frustration succinctly and sympathetically. (Sept.) (Publishers Weekly, September 20, 2004)

“…a provocative new business book…aims to offer practical solutions to difficulties women might encounter in the workplace…” (The Daily Telegraph, 12 August 2004)


Review
“…purports to identify the four types of women who populate office life” (The Guardian, 8th November 2004)

“…Heffernan’s book gives strategies for dealing with toxic bosses and misogynistic environments…” (The Times T2, 2nd November 2004)

“…she (the author) perceptively dissects the nature of power and its source…” (Management Today, November 2004)

“…thought-provoking book …” (Western Daily Press – Bristol, 27 October 2004)

“…a provocative new business book…aims to offer practical solutions to difficulties women might encounter in the workplace…” (The Daily Telegraph, 12 August 2004)


Review
“…Heffernan’s book should be read even more by men…”
—Carol Kennedy, Director, Feb. 2005

“Finally! A book that exposes the masculine myths about what it takes to be effective in business and helps women reclaim the relational intelligence we have been taught to ignore. A must-read for all women who want to increase their power and influence I the workplace—especially those who are thinking of leaving because they are tired of the corporate gamesmanship that requires splitting themselves into a ‘work me’ and a ‘home me.’”
--Joyce K. Fletcher, professor of management, Simmons School of Management, Boston, Massachusetts

“Margaret Heffernan has provided us with that rarest commodity of all—a ‘wise book’. It’s ‘well written.’ It’s got ‘great stories.’ But mostly it’s wise; it deservers to be read carefully digested. I, frankly, was mesmerized by virtually every page and every vignette. Bravo!”
--Tom Peters

“What I like about Margaret’s book (and Margaret for that matter) is the no-nonsense approach she brings to the topic of women in business. It’s not just that she sounds like the mentor you wish you had, it’s also that she doesn’t shy away from any topic, refuses to sugar-coat her own experience or her advice, and recognizes that the issues of women in business won’t get serious discussion until they cease to be a them-against-us mindless posture. She’s real. She’s smart. She’s experienced. She speaks the truth. What more could you want?"
--Alan Webber, founding editor, Fast Company

“They say the truth will set you free. It can also make you hopping mad! At a time when so many have given up telling the truth about women and men in the traditional corporation, along comes Margaret Heffernan prepared to take on the truth with clear eye and a wry smile. Get free! Get mad! Let it stir you into action. Let it inspire you to roll up your sleeves and build a new kind of workplace---one that honors the complex realities of our twenty-first century lives.”
--Shoshana Zuboff, Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, and coauthor, The Support Economy


Book Description
In this provocative book, Margaret Heffernan, former CEO and Fast Company contributor, fuses her own experience with that of hundreds of women to identify the biggest challenges and the best solutions that women face today. From VPs of Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurs to women just starting their careers, she traces the patterns and themes underlying women's power, choices, love, sex, money, and many other vital topics for working women. Without sugar-coating the facts, preaching, or oversimplifying, she offers solutions and shares the truth about the working world: women's choices are limited, you can't have it all, women do work differently from men and, yes, it is possible to find success amidst all of this and feel good about it.

"Finally! A book that exposes the masculine myths about what it takes to be effective in business and helps women reclaim the relational intelligence we have been taught to ignore. A must-read for all women who want to increase their power and influence in the workplace—especially those who are thinking of leaving because they are tired of the corporate gamesmanship that requires splitting themselves into a 'work me' and a 'home me.'"
—Joyce K. Fletcher, professor of management, Simmons School of Management, Boston, Massachusetts

Order your copy today!


Download Description
In this provocative book, Margaret Heffernan, former CEO and Fast Company contributor, fuses her own experience with that of hundreds of women to identify the biggest challenges and the best solutions that women face today¾and the best solutions. From VPs of Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurs to women just starting their careers, she traces the patterns and themes underlying women’s power, choices, love, sex, money, and many other vital topics for working women. Without sugar-coating the facts, preaching, or oversimplifying, she offers solutions and shares the truth about the working world: women’s choices are limited, you can’t have it all, women do work differently from men¾yes, it is possible to find success amidst all of this and feel good about it.


From the Inside Flap
Years after the women’s movement has "transformed" the workplace, working women still find themselves abused, undervalued, and alienated in the business world. In this provocative book, Margaret Heffernan, former CEO and Fast Company contributor, fuses her own experience with that of hundreds of women to identify the biggest challenges that women face today–and the best solutions. From VPs of Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurs to women just starting their careers, she traces the patterns and themes underlying power, choices, love, sex, money, and many other vital topics for working women. Without sugar-coating the facts, preaching, or oversimplifying, she offers solutions and shares the truth about the working world: women’s choices are limited, you can’t have it all, women do work differently from men–yes, it is possible to find success amidst all of this and feel good about it. The women interviewed for this book tell how they have overcome obstacles and evolved their own concept of power, crafted a blend of work and life that really does satisfy, designed career paths that do not require the splitting of personal values from work values, and run companies that give the entire business community a different view of how work can be done. They are telling the naked truth about what business is and could be.


From the Back Cover
With Support, Humor, and Perspective, This Provocative Book Outlines New Options for Businesswomen "Finally! A book that exposes the masculine myths about what it takes to be effective in business and helps women reclaim the relational intelligence we have been taught to ignore. A must-read for all women who want to increase their power and influence in the workplace–especially those who are thinking of leaving because they are tired of the corporate gamesmanship that requires splitting themselves into a ‘work me’ and a ‘home me.’ " –Joyce K. Fletcher, professor of management, Simmons School of Management, Boston, Massachusetts "Margaret Heffernan has provided us with that rarest commodity of all–a ‘wise book.’ It's ‘well written.’ It’s got ‘great stories.’ But mostly it’s wise; it deserves to be read carefully and digested. I, frankly, was mesmerized by virtually every page and every vignette. Bravo!" –Tom Peters "What I like about Margaret’s book (and Margaret for that matter) is the no-nonsense approach she brings to the topic of women in business. It’s not just that she sounds like the mentor you wish you had, it’s also that she doesn’t shy away from any topic, refuses to sugar-coat her own experience or her advice, and recognizes that the issues of women in business won’t get serious discussion until they cease to be a them-against-us mindless posture. She’s real. She’s smart. She’s experienced. She speaks the truth. What more could you want?" –Alan Webber, founding editor, Fast Company "They say the truth will set you free. It can also make you hopping mad! At a time when so many have given up telling the truth about women and men in the traditional corporation, along comes Margaret Heffernan prepared to take on the truth with a clear eye and a wry smile. Get free! Get mad! Let it stir you into action. Let it inspire you to roll up your sleeves and build a new kind of workplace–one that honors the complex realities of our twenty-first century lives." –Shoshana Zuboff, Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, and coauthor, The Support Economy


About the Author
Margaret Heffernan has been CEO of five different businesses (both old economy and new) in the United States and the United Kingdom. A former producer for the BBC, she has consulted for film and television and has been acknowledged as one of the top industry executives by the Silicon Alley Reporter, Streaming Media, and the Hollywood Reporter. She speaks regularly at industry and business school conferences and has appeared on NPR’s Talk of the Nation and Marketplace as well as CNN and CNBC. She is a regular contributor to Real Business and Fast Company magazines.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Years after the women's movement has "transformed" the workplace, working women still find themselves abused, undervalued, and alienated in the business world. In this provocative book, Margaret Heffernan, former CEO and Fast Company contributor, fuses her own experience with that of hundreds of women to identify the biggest challenges that women face today -- and the best solutions. From VPs of Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurs to women just starting their careers, she traces the patterns and themes underlying power, choices, love, sex, money, and many other vital topics for working women. Without sugar-coating the facts, preaching, or oversimplifying, she offers solutions and shares the truth about the working world: women's choices are limited, you can't have it all, women do work differently from men -- yes, it is possible to find success amidst all of this and feel good about it. The women interviewed for this book tell how they have overcome obstacles and evolved their own concept of power, crafted a blend of work and life that really does satisfy, designed career paths that do not require the splitting of personal values from work values, and run companies that give the entire business community a different view of how work can be done. They are telling the naked truth about what business is and could be.

SYNOPSIS

With Support, Humor, and Perspective, This Provocative Book Outlines New Options for Businesswomen

"Finally! A book that exposes the masculine myths about what it takes to be effective in business and helps women reclaim the relational intelligence we have been taught to ignore. A must-read for all women who want to increase their power and influence in the workplace—especially those who are thinking of leaving because they are tired of the corporate gamesmanship that requires splitting themselves into a ‘work me’ and a ‘home me.’ " —Joyce K. Fletcher, professor of management, Simmons School of Management, Boston, Massachusetts

"Margaret Heffernan has provided us with that rarest commodity of all—a ‘wise book.’ It's ‘well written.’ It’s got ‘great stories.’ But mostly it’s wise; it deserves to be read carefully and digested. I, frankly, was mesmerized by virtually every page and every vignette. Bravo!" —Tom Peters

"What I like about Margaret’s book (and Margaret for that matter) is the no-nonsense approach she brings to the topic of women in business. It’s not just that she sounds like the mentor you wish you had, it’s also that she doesn’t shy away from any topic, refuses to sugar-coat her own experience or her advice, and recognizes that the issues of women in business won’t get serious discussion until they cease to be a them-against-us mindless posture. She’s real. She’s smart. She’s experienced. She speaks the truth. What more could you want?" —Alan Webber, founding editor, Fast Company

"They say the truth will set you free. It can also make you hopping mad! At a time when so many have given up telling the truth about women and men in the traditional corporation, along comes Margaret Heffernan prepared to take on the truth with a clear eye and a wry smile. Get free! Get mad! Let it stir you into action. Let it inspire you to roll up your sleeves and build a new kind of workplace—one that honors the complex realities of our twenty-first century lives." —Shoshana Zuboff, Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, and coauthor, The Support Economy

Years after the women’s movement has "transformed" the workplace, working women still find themselves abused, undervalued, and alienated in the business world.

In this provocative book, Margaret Heffernan, former CEO and Fast Company contributor, fuses her own experience with that of hundreds of women to identify the biggest challenges that women face today—and the best solutions. From VPs of Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurs to women just starting their careers, she traces the patterns and themes underlying power, choices, love, sex, money, and many other vital topics for working women. Without sugar-coating the facts, preaching, or oversimplifying, she offers solutions and shares the truth about the working world: women’s choices are limited, you can’t have it all, women do work differently from men—yes, it is possible to find success amidst all of this and feel good about it.

The women interviewed for this book tell how they have overcome obstacles and evolved their own concept of power, crafted a blend of work and life that really does satisfy, designed career paths that do not require the splitting of personal values from work values, and run companies that give the entire business community a different view of how work can be done. They are telling the naked truth about what business is and could be.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly