PIC No. 16:
• Title: Begin Boldly: How Women Can Reimagine Risk, Embrace Uncertainty & Launch a Brilliant Career
• Author: Christie Hunter Arscott
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (Aug. 2, 2022, 153 pages + resources)
• Management Bucket #1 of 20: The Results Bucket
Welcome to Issue No. 16 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system."
“Ball and Chain, Barbwire, Tall Grass, Terrain to Conquer, a Wall to Climb Over, and a Swamp To Swim”
WHAT IF…a highly qualified author, advisor, coach, and speaker would write a book for young women—on how to negotiate the first 10 years of their careers?
WHAT IF…the book leveraged research (not opinion) to inspire women to take risks in their careers—reminding them that “the workplace is not a meritocracy”?
WHAT IF…this book outlined practical career steps, risk and reward strategies (failure is not final), plus dozens of inspirational examples (and humor!)—but didn’t overwhelm the learner? Maybe just 150 pages or so?
WHAT IF…this book also featured a discussion guide for: 1) women readers, 2) managers, educators, coaches, mentors, and sponsors of early career women, and 3) organizational leaders and executives?
WHAT IF…wait! There is such a book!
Gratefully, and published just this week, Begin Boldly: How Women Can Reimagine Risk, Embrace Uncertainty & Launch a Brilliant Career checks all the boxes! This very, very practical guide for women facing the challenging first 10 years in the workplace was written by Christie Hunter Arscott (a Rhodes Scholar)—but no stranger to risk, failure, and all the other obstacles common to women. She writes:
“One of the biggest challenges that women face in their careers is navigating the transitions during their first ten years, including the shift from university to first career role.”
Early in my (male) career, I learned from my wife, Joanne, that the obstacles for women were unfair and today would actually be illegal. Yikes! But after college and willing to start in any role—if it were to lead to management—Joanne was told by every major company, “We don’t promote women into management.” No…not the dark ages. It was the late 1960s.
So…I’m so grateful that Begin Boldly is now available. It’s the perfect book for my women friends and colleagues who are in their first 10 years of their careers. And—a bonus! This is also the perfect book for my four granddaughters (19, 19, 15, and 13). In 10 years they will be 29, 29, 25, and 23. (Yikes!) Our monthly mentoring sessions—with this book—start next month!
RISK AND FAILURE. Interestingly (per the book’s aspirational subtitle), the author believes younger women need to take more risks. She writes about a senior-level partner who called her out for not speaking up during a team call. Instead of “Man up!”—this senior woman told her to “Woman up!” Yet…risk-taking is, well, risky, but not career-ending. I’m reminded of Peter Drucker’s wisdom: “People who don't take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.” But apparently, per the author’s research, many younger women are risk-adverse. But there’s hope, she says.
IF YOU’RE COACHING a younger woman, here are six reasons you’ll love this book and order extra copies frequently:
#1. SUCCESS ADVISERS. Consider adding “Success Adviser” to your business card—if you have a heart to coach, mentor, and inspire younger women. “No woman is an island,” writes the author, and she recommends that taking intelligent career risks (“Begin Boldly”) requires three kinds of support:
• Stakeholders: “Don’t forget that if you get a new job, everybody in your house gets a new job….Everybody has a different life because you have changed yours.”
• Success Advisers: “You should seek success advisers who have pushed boundaries professionally and taken chances on themselves.”
• Safety Net: “…composed of the individuals who will help you course correct when things go awry and also help you make the most of the positive outcomes or risk when things go well.”
#2. FLIP YOUR SCRIPT. The best practice on risk: “My work and research have highlighted that senior-level women leaders view risk-taking as a continuous practice in their lives and careers.” Christie Hunter Arscott adds, “Flip your script from ‘I take risks’ to ‘I am a risk-taker.’”
#3. THE 4 Rs: THE RISK-TAKING RITUAL. I appreciate the abundance of practical ideas and methodologies—delivered early in the book. “The Risk-Taking Ritual” (served up on page 14) features four Rs: Risk—Reward—Refine—Repeat. Under “Reward,” the author suggests that “each time you take a risk you should complete this sentence: ‘The rewards I’ve reaped from taking this risk are…” (Don’t skip this section!)
#4. QUIT WHINING! The anecdotes, examples, and metaphors are memorable. Speaking at a global program for early career women, the author asked “everyone to close their eyes and picture two individuals running a race with the same start line, start time, and finish line.” She asked if this race would be fair. Most said yes. But…when they opened their eyes, her PowerPoint showed a man in a suit, in the left lane, with just two small hurdles.
“In the right lane was a woman with a ball and chain attached to one foot. Her lane had barbwire, tall grass, and terrain to conquer, a wall to climb over, and a swamp to swim through. The caption was ‘Quit whining. It’s the same distance.’”
Oh, my. On behalf of all men worldwide, I’m so, so sorry. Yikes.
#5. BOLD M.O.V.E.S. – BRILLIANT. I always turn to page 25 of a new book and I often find the “meat and potatoes” there (or just “potatoes” if you’re vegetarian). Bingo! Page 25 notes, “Think about it: We take risks all the time. Getting in your car is a risk.” So within that context, page 26 then delivers the very helpful “Bold MOVES Method for Strategic Risk-Taking.” The memorable acronym, MOVES, includes: Motivation, Opportunity, Vision, Endgame Plan, and Support.
Endgame Plan: “What is your endgame plan if things go well? What is your endgame plan if they don’t?”
#6. POWERFUL CHARTS! The book is relatively short (a good thing!) and the audio version is just under six hours. The charts pack a punch! My favorites:
• Activities vs. Impact (3 cheers for the Results Bucket!)
• Crafting and Controlling Your Narrative (who, what, why, how, and where—and this tip under the “how” section: “Here’s a great place to highlight measurable results. More on that to follow, but this is particularly important for women.”)
• Curious Questioning (five ideas, five examples—including how to frame requests or suggestions as observations followed by a question in need of a response—brilliant!)
Oh, my. There’s so much more, but you’ll have to read the book. Don’t skip:
• The “ladder” metaphor (your long view)
• Your BHAG: Big Hairy Audacious Goal, per Jim Collins—or as I suggest to my faith-based friends, “Big HOLY Audacious Goal.”
• “Flip the script from ‘Why me?’ to ‘Why not me?’”
• The “Aspiration-to-Action” notes in each chapter: A psychologist’s advice on taking career risks, “Make sure your ‘whys’ (reason for wanting this goal) outweigh your ‘buts’ (the obstacles that are present).”
• The five-page discussion guide (segmented into three groups): brilliant. (Why doesn’t every book include a discussion guide?)
• The numerous HBR articles referenced (including two by the author)
• And…why you should “toot your own horn!”
This is a must-read book. And this final note to my grandson (19): “This is not really a career competition, but you should read this book also. Your sisters are well on their way to winning that foot race!”
PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Results Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies:
• Jump: Dare to Do What Scares You in Business and Life, by Kim Perell (Read my review.)
• Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact, by Liz Wiseman (Read my review.)
• The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter (Updated and Expanded), by Michael Watkins (Read my review.)
• The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right, by Gorick Ng - (Read my review.)
• The Discerning Life: An Invitation to Notice God in Everything, by Stephen Macchia (Read my review.)
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Begin Boldly: How Women Can Reimagine Risk, Embrace Uncertainty & Launch a Brilliant Career, by Christie Hunter Arscott. Listen on Libro.fm (5 hours, 45 minutes). For more book reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. (And thanks to Fortier PR and the publisher for sending a review copy.)
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