Synopses & Reviews
High-achieving women across a variety of fields share their worst mistakesand how overcoming these mistakes paved the way for future successes.
The cultural conversation around women in the workplace has reached a fever pitch. Women are being told to lean in, to assert themselves, to ask for more, to analyze their work/life balance. But despite all of this dialogue, theres something that no one is talking about: advice on how to recover when youve stumbled. Everyone makes mistakes, but for many women, acknowledging them can feel tantamount to career suicide. Jess Bacal, founder of the Smith College Center for Work and Life, is here to change that mentality. In Mistakes I Made at Work, Bacal interviews 25 women about critical mistakes theyve made on the job, and how they took those mistakes and spun them into career-making gold.
Among those interviewed are:
Cheryl Strayed, New York Times bestselling author of Wild
Laurel Touby, founder of MediaBistro
Rosie Perez, actress and activist
Anna Holmes, founding editor of Jezebel.com
Joanna Barsch, Director Emeritus of McKinsey and Company
Ideal for those just entering the workplace, as well as for those looking to move up the corporate ladder, Mistakes I Made at Work will resonate as alongside titles like Lean In and Nice Girls Dont Get the Corner Office as a go-to career book for years to come.
Review
Named by
Fast Company as a "Top 10 Book You Need to Read This Year"
Named by Publishers Weekly as a "Top 10 Business/Economics Book for Spring 2014"
“This insightful book reminds us that even the women we most admire have dealt with failure. It perfectly captures one of the wisest things my mother ever told me -- that failure isnt the opposite of success, its a stepping stone to success.” -Arianna Huffington
“As valuable for its wisdom and its advice as it is pure fun to read.” -Cathy Hanaeur, author of The Bitch in the House
“Refreshing…filled with humor and humiliation, plus loads of hard-earned career management advice.” -Elle
“Absorbing…a comforting and genuine reminder that everyone makes mistakes.” -New York Magazine
“An important book …Crucial character boot camp for women everywhere.” -The Globe and Mail praise
Synopsis
High-achieving women share their worst mistakes at workand how learning from them paved the way to success.
Named by Fast Company as a "Top 10 Book You Need to Read This Year"
In Mistakes I Made at Work, a Publishers Weekly Top 10 Business Book for Spring 2014, Jessica Bacal interviews twenty-five successful women about their toughest on-the-job moments. These innovators across a variety of fields from the arts to finance to tech reveal that theyre more thoughtful, purposeful and assertive as leaders because they learned from their mistakes, not because they never made any. Interviewees include:
- Cheryl Strayed, bestselling author of Wild
- Anna Holmes, founding editor of Jezebel.com
- Kim Gordon, founding member of the band Sonic Youth
- Joanna Barsch, Director Emeritus of McKinsey and Company
- Carol Dweck, Stanford psychology professor
- Ruth Ozeki, New York Times bestselling author of Tale for the Time Being
- And many more
For readers of
Lean In and
#Girlboss,
Mistakes I Made for Work is ideal for millenials just starting their careers, for women seeking to advance at work, or for anyone grappling with issues of perfectionism, and features fascinating and surprising anecdotes, as well as tips for readers.
About the Author
Jess Bacal directs the Wurtele Center for Work and Life at Smith College, which focuses on teaching skills that are crucial to success but arent measured on tests for example, the ability to learn from mistakes. She received an MS.Ed. from Bank Street College of Education and an MFA in writing from Hunter College. She lives in Northampton, MA with her husband and two children.