Naked in the Boardroom review
Todd from apennyfor.com invited me to join the Blog Business Book Tour (BBBT), reviewing a new book, working with the author to present it to you, gentle readers.
The book I was charged with was ?Naked in the Boardroom: A CEO Bares Her Secrets so That You can Transform Your Career? by Robin Wolaner.
Robin and I had the pleasure of speaking with Robin via email and phone in order to find out more about the book and about her. What resulted is a review (below), and a snapcast. Robin will also be guest blogging here throughout the day.
There are a number of introductions to the book, so I?m not going to spend too much time rehashing. The brief concept behind the book is that Robin Wolaner, a former CEO and founder of Parenting magazine shares her story, and she puts it - her mistakes, in order to help the little people like you and I build up their careers. I asked Robin a few basic questions about the book to get us started:
What’s your purpose with this book?
I want people early in their careers, particularly women, to have more understanding of themselves — what will help them succeed, what will give them satisfaction, how they can get more out of the way they will spend most of their waking hours.
What’s the one thing you want me [as a reader] to come away with after having read this book?
Remaining true to yourself — to your particular strengths, values, idiosyncrasies, foibles, passions — is the way to succeed in your career. Trying to fit someone else’s model for a successful entrepreneur or executive won’t work as well.
Overall, the book was a worthwhile read. Robin tells a number of stories about her rise to the top, especially as relates to the creation of Parenting magazine.
To be honest, I have a hard time getting into books that combine the “career life story” with the business lesson. I typically like to read one or the other type. This book, however, does a good job of combining the two. There was some good stuff that really stuck out to me throughout the book. One of my favorite lines is:
“Research is the first refuge of managers afraid of trusting their own instincts.”
Trusting your gut is going to be the next big business trend, mark my words. And rightfully so? as Robin mentions, it doesn?t happen enough.
Throughout the book, she has included ?Naked Truths? ? small bits of knowledge that mostly tie to the content she?s writing about at the time. My favorite was Naked Truth #15.
“Women sabotage themselves by thinking about all the ways they are not perfect for this job opportunity. (Men are untroubled by this.) Don’t compare yourself to the ideal - compare yourself to the other candidates.”
This one really stuck out to me simply because my wife and I have talking a lot about this very subject lately. She?s brilliant and talented, but often unsure of her own abilities - simply because there’s always someone somewhere in the world who is could be better at the job.
When Todd first invited me to join the BBBT and told me what book I was going to be reviewing, I looked up the description on Amazon. It appeared that it was a ?business book for women?. The author assured me that this was a book for me or women. I?m not sure that?s entirely accurate. In fact, within the first few pages of the book, I read things like these quotes, making me think that perhaps this book was really best read by women.
“And my least favorite boss, Jim Nelson, isn’t small physically. At least not in any visible way.” - pg 14
“Are male colleagues still clueless? Please share your stories at www.nakedintheboardroom.com” - pg. 21
I even paused my reading on about page 25 to ask Robin about this.
Do you think that there is any differences between what you’re writing/the way your writing about it, and what a man could do in the same position? I wonder if a man was writing about how to work with women in the same way, would there be an outcry from women?
You are probably right. I tried to write in the voice that we women use when we share our stories with each other. Much to my delight, men are enjoying the book and so far not taking offense at any male-baiting I do. I would hope there wouldn’t be an objection to a man doing the same thing, but it is easier as the less-powerful/compensated minority to criticize the group in power, than vice versa. I hope women will soon be on a level playing field, but it hasn’t happened yet.
If you agree with that outcry point above, what do you think? Would that outcry be warranted or silly?
I’ve tried to be honest in the book about the ways behavior more common to women hurts us in the workplace. I would hope I could take it if a man did the same thing.
Personally, I have a hard time knowing how to best work with women. By Robin’s own admission, women don’t really speak up for themselves. But I find myself in meetings where the women aren’t saying anything debating whether to simply leave them to their own devices or try to go out of my way to engage them in the conversation. After reading the book, I’m not all that much closer to knowing how to handle things like this.
I don’t know…. perhaps this is just me. The other males on the BBBT are all raving about how much men can learn. Maybe I’m just another clueless male! 
Overall, the book was worth reading that provoked a great deal of thought on my part, and some very interesting discussions with Robin, my wife, and industry friends.
Be sure to check out Robin?s Web site at: www.nakedintheboardroom.com for more info on the
Jake is right, there are definitely points in Naked that are meant just for women (a male friend said I shouldn’t make the Jim Nelson requirement if I didn’t want to restrict my future boss prospects!). But I thought it great that the first three emails I got, in the week before the book even was officially on sale, were all from men who picked it up in bookstores and liked it.