Synopses & Reviews
Redefining power and the nature of success for the 21st century. The numbers are staggering. Between 1997 and 2004, privately held, women-owned businesses grew at three times the rate of all American privately held firms; womens companies are creating jobs at twice the rate of all firms; womens companies are growing profits faster than all firms. Five-time CEO and contributor to Real Business and Fast Company Margaret Heffernan asks, Why are these women so successful?
In How She Does It, Heffernan finds a striking congruence between the things that women excel at and the demands of the new economy. After interviewing hundreds of women running businesses of all sizes and in all markets, she discovers a few attributes that hold true across the board. Women have a tremendous need to achieve. Women dont feel they have a safety net or can turn back. They are smart about markets and timing. They practice diversity. They place values at the heart of their business and take culture very seriously. And women work from a different concept of power than men. The result is a unique style of leadership that challenges conventional wisdom: Soft skills are getting hard results. This is an inspiring workplace manifesto that reveals a new standard of excellence, a new way for any company to get from good to great that is fast becoming the new norm.
Review
"Soft skills are getting hard results. [
Women on Top] will cause some light bulbs to go off over the collective heads of the corporate world."
-USA Today
"Heffernan blasts through the fog with her contention that women-owned companies are creating a 'new norm' for entrepreneurial business and management success. And she comes armed with hair-raising facts."
-Business Voice
Synopsis
More women are starting successful businesses than ever before. But what makes women leaders different? And how can others learn to capitalize on their strengths? Through interviews with hundreds of women entrepreneurs, Margaret Heffernan discovered that women are more values-oriented, more flexible, and less ego-driven than their male counterparts; as a result they're creating company cultures that are better able to meet the demands of the new economy. Heffernan's stories about real women making really serious profits is a must- read for all entrepreneurs-male or female, whether well established or just starting up-as well as anyone seeking to understand what it takes to do business today.
About the Author
Margaret Heffernan has been the CEO of five different businesses in the United States and the UK. A former producer for the BBC and author of The Naked Truth: A Working Womans Manifesto on Business and What Really Matters, she is a regular contributor to Real Business and Fast Company magazine.