What a compelling title!  Claire Shipman, Senior National Correspondent ABC News and Katty Kay, Anchor BBC World News have been thrilled by the reception this new book has been receiving. Read the authors’ blog

to learn more about the book and the buzz.

Published just last week on June 2nd, the publisher has already moved into it’s 2nd printing due to the unprecedented demand.  And FWE&E is very proud to be the only venue in the Bay Area hosting Claire and Katty to share their perspectives in person.  Register today for our event at Oracle on June 16th.

So, what’s all the buzz about?  Claire and Katty feel that we are in a unique period in history where women have a chance to take a stand and create a life, both work and personal, that works better for them.  The last time in history where there was such a confluence of events occurred when Rosie the Riveter entered the workforce in droves during World War II.  In Chapter 1 of their book, they list compelling statistics such as the fact that women account for more than half of the educated workforce; more women than men are graduating with advanced degrees; many studies exist showing that companies with the best records for promoting women outperform their competition by every measure of profitability - equity, revenue, and assets.

When I first started reading the book, I wondered how it might apply to me as I don’t have a partner, children, or elderly parents to worry about.  Am I qualified to “Write My Own Rules for Success?”   Then I realized that, even though my story was different, it still fit the need to do some rewriting.

Several years ago, when I was Managing Director of legal publishing company, and then later as SVP of another large division - I lead a life of constant travel, meetings, stress and pressure with the motto of “no pets, no plants, no partner”.  I stopped using that moniker when I realized I was scaring my team but I also stopped using it when I realized that this lifestyle was not exactly fulfilling.

When my health and general well being were at their lowest, I made a drastic decision to quit my job, change careers, and move across the country.  If I had read Womenomics, I might have instead negotiated my current situation to give myself the time and space I needed to lead a healthier, more fulfilling life.

Things worked out in that I live somewhere I love, doing work I find fulfilling, with an enriching community of friends, a cat named Pebbles (yes, same name as Susan Boyle’s cat!) and even some plants that I try not to kill on a regular basis.  Having read Womenomics

the final conflict download

, I see that there are many ways to write your own rules and some of the keys are to be really clear about what you want; be fact based and employer-oriented in the “ask” (meaning consider what’s important to them and your team as well as you), and then over-communicate about how you’re adding value in your new way of working.

Let’s go out there and be role models for women and men about how to lead more fullfilling lives!   Continue this discussion here or in the Event Gallery in our members-only Online Community.

This entry was posted by wendybeecham on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 1:58 pm and is filed under Career. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.