Blackstone LaunchPad Entrepreneurship Book Collection: Empowerment

In the New York Times bestseller that the Washington Post called "Lean In for misfits," Sophia Amoruso shares how she went from dumpster diving to founding one of the fastest-growing retailers in the world. Amoruso spent her teens hitchhiking, committing petty theft, and scrounging in dumpsters for leftover bagels. By age twenty-two she had dropped out of school, and was broke, directionless, and checking IDs in the lobby of an art school--a job she'd taken for the health insurance. It was in that lobby that Sophia decided to start selling vintage clothes on eBay. Flash forward to today, and she's the founder of Nasty Gal and the founder and CEO of Girlboss. Sophia was never a typical CEO, or a typical anything, and she's written #GIRLBOSS for other girls like her: outsiders (and insiders) seeking a unique path to success, even when that path is windy as all hell and lined with naysayers. #GIRLBOSS proves that being successful isn't about where you went to college or how popular you were in high school. It's about trusting your instincts and following your gut; knowing which rules to follow and which to break; when to button up and when to let your freak flag fly.

Every seven minutes a child is bullied. One out of every three students in the United States have been targeted at school. Conventional wisdom says that bullying is exclusively detrimental to one's health, yet studies show that 47 percent of victims report a positive effect on their adult lives. In Adversity to Advantage, Randy Ginsburg strives to inspire those who were bullied with words of wisdom from a diverse group of highly successful entrepreneurs. These individuals have overcome the aggressors from their past and used their negative experiences as stepping stones for personal and entrepreneurial growth.

Weaving together storytelling, practical tips and inspiration, the book will teach you how to put the five fearless principles to work so that you too can spark the sorts of remarkable breakthroughs that can impact the world. Philanthropist, investor, and technology pioneer Jean Case brings to life the five Be Fearless principles common to the people and organizations that bring about transformational change. When National Geographic Chairman Jean Case set out to investigate the core qualities of great change makers, past and present, from inventors to revolutionaries, she found five surprising traits they all had in common. These weren't wealth, privilege, or even genius. What all of these exceptional men and women shared was that they had chosen to make a "big bet," take bold risks, learn from their failures, reach beyond their bubbles, and let urgency conquer fear. Throughout Be Fearless, Jean vividly illustrates these principles through storytelling--from her own transformational life experiences, to Jane Goodall's remarkable breakthroughs in understanding and protecting chimpanzees, to celebrity chef José Andrés' decision to be a "first responder" and take his kitchen to the sites of devastating hurricanes to feed the hungry, to Madame C.J. Walker's vision to build a hair care empire that would employ thousands across the country, and more. She shares new insights to stories you might think you know--like Airbnb's tale of starting from scratch to transform the hospitality industry, to John F. Kennedy's history-making moonshot--and gems from changemakers you've never heard of.

While Black Americans have long felt the devastating effects of anti-black discrimination, they have often had great difficulty articulating and substantiating both the existence and impact of that discrimination to an American public who is convinced that it no longer exists. Professionals in academia, the media, and the business community, along with people in the general public have struggled to explain the significant and persistent gaps (in wealth, employment, achievement and poverty) between Black and white communities in what they perceive to be a post racial America.In his new book The Black Tax: The Cost of being Black in America, Shawn Rochester shows how The Black Tax (which is the financial cost of conscious and unconscious anti-black discrimination), creates a massive financial burden on Black American households that dramatically reduces their ability to leave a substantial legacy for future generations. Mr. Rochester lays out an extraordinarily compelling case which documents the enormous financial cost of current and past anti-black discrimination on African American households. The Black Tax, provides the fact pattern, data and evidence to substantiate what African Americans have long experienced and tried to convey to an unbelieving American public. Backed by an exceptional amount of research, Mr. Rochester not only highlights the extraordinary cost of the discrimination that African Americans currently face, but also explores the massive cost of past discrimination to explain why after 400 years Black Americans own only about 2% of American wealth. He then establishes a framework that Black Americans and other concerned parties can use to eliminate this tax and help create the 6 million jobs and 1.4 million businesses that are missing from the Black community.The Black Tax takes the reader through a complete paradigm shift that causes the reader to evaluate all forms of spending and investment in terms of the number of jobs created or businesses developed within the Black community.

From the streets of Baltimore, to Stanford Ph.D. to (multiple) Black Woman Millionaire, Dr. Venus takes you by the hand and walks you through the spiritual landmine of our "cultural consciousness" that show up in your money so you can defy your impossible to become a 7-Figure sister. This daring and ruthlessly compassionate book sheds an unapologetic light on the impact Slavery has had on Black Women's sense of self in terms of money. Mixing intimate personal stories, searing truth, and emotionally healing action items to start immediately healing money wounds, this book is a must-have for sisters who know they have a destiny to fulfill. Part memoir, part personal-transformation, and part business development, The Black Woman Millionaire serves as a street-smart salve for Black Women to heal their brokenness, so they don't have to spend their lives broke-regardless of income level. Edgy, instructional, and inspirational, this book will teach you how to emancipate yourself-emotionally, spiritually, and financially-so that you alter the financial future of your bloodline.

Your military skills and experience will be invaluable to you in civilian life. But your successful transition won't just happen. You need a network of people who can help you decide where you want to go and then help you get there. Don't know how to build that network? No problem: Business Networking for Veterans will help you. Not comfortable drawing attention to yourself? Don't worry: networking is about service, not showing off. And service is something you've already mastered.

Rooted in revolutionary therapy techniques, The Confidence Gap provides a practical roadmap for confronting the fears and doubts that keep holding you back Too many of us miss out on opportunities in life because we lack self-confidence. Whether it's public speaking, taking on a leadership role, or asking someone for a date, there are situations in which we just don't feel equipped to handle the challenges we face. Russ Harris offers a surprising solution to low self-confidence, shyness, and insecurity: Rather than trying to "get over" our fears, he says, the secret is to form a new and wiser relationship with them. Paradoxically, it's only when we stop struggling against our fearfulness that we begin to find lasting freedom from it. Drawing on the techniques of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a cutting-edge form of cognitive-behavioral therapy, The Confidence Gap explains how to:     * Free yourself from common misconceptions about what confidence is and how to build it    * Transform your relationship with fear and anxiety    * Clarify your core values and use them as your inspiration and motivation    * Use mindfulness to effectively handle negative thoughts and feelings.

Everyone knows that high IQ is no guarantee of success, happiness, or virtue, but until Emotional Intelligence, we could only guess why. Daniel Goleman's brilliant report from the frontiers of psychology and neuroscience offers startling new insight into our "two minds"--the rational and the emotional--and how they together shape our destiny. Drawing on groundbreaking brain and behavioral research, Goleman shows the factors at work when people of high IQ flounder and those of modest IQ do surprisingly well. These factors, which include self-awareness, self-discipline, and empathy, add up to a different way of being smart--and they aren't fixed at birth. Although shaped by childhood experiences, emotional intelligence can be nurtured and strengthened throughout our adulthood--with immediate benefits to our health, our relationships, and our work.   

The Fire Starter Sessions is an apathy-kicking, integrity-infusing guide to defining success on your own terms.   Danielle LaPorte's straight-talk life-and-livelihood sermons have been read by over one million people. Bold but empathetic, in The Fire Starter Sessions she reframes popular self-help and success concepts, including:   - Life balance is a myth, and the pursuit of it is causing us more stress then the craving for balance itself. - Being well-rounded is over-rated. When you focus on developing your true strengths, you enter your mastery zone. - Screw your principles (they might be holding you back). - We have ambition backwards. Getting clear on how you want to feel in your life + work is more important than setting goals. It's the most potent form of clarity that you can have, and it's what leads to true fulfillment.

In Foster Your Passion, Hayley engages and entertains her readers through personal stories and lessons she's learned throughout her life and her career. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a college grad or a mom looking to jump back into the workforce, Hayley provides you with insights and strategies that motivate and inspire. By reading her book or attending an event, you will learn valuable lessons such as how to:-define your vision to craft a personal mission statement-shift your mindset to embrace fears and jump out of your comfort zone-trust your gut and not your ovaries to make better decisions-unleash more confidence and power in all aspects of life-manage and optimize your most valuable resource ...time to be able to accomplish more than you think you can...And so much more! Whether you're an entrepreneur, a college grad or a woman looking to jump back into the workforce, Hayley provides you with insights and strategies that motivate and inspire readers at all ages and stages of life and career.

Meet the women who aren't asking permission from Silicon Valley to chase their dreams. They are going for it--building cutting-edge tech startups, investing in each other's ventures, crushing male hacker stereotypes and rallying the next generation of women in tech. With a nod to tech trailblazers like Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer, Geek Girl Rising introduces readers to the fearless female founders, technologists, and innovators fighting at a grassroots level for an ownership stake in the revolution that's changing the way we live, work and connect. Readers will meet Debbie Sterling, inventor of GoldieBlox, the first engineering toy for girls, which topples the notion that only boys can build; peek inside YouTube sensation Michelle Phan's ipsy studios, where she is grooming the next generation of digital video stars while leading her own mega e-commerce beauty business; and tour the headquarters of The Muse, the hottest career site for millennials, and meet its intrepid CEO, Kathryn Minshew, who stared down sexism while raising millions of dollars to fund the company she co-founded. These women are the rebels proving that a female point of view matters in the age of technology and can rock big returns if you have a big idea and the passion to build it.

In kitchens and living rooms, in garages and labs and basements, even in converted chicken coops, women and girls have invented ingenious innovations that have made our lives simpler and better.Their creations are some of the most enduring (the windshield wiper) and best loved (the chocolate chip cookie).What inspired these women, and just how did they turn their ideas into realities?

In this instant New York Times bestseller, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed--be it parents, students, educators, athletes, or business people--that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls "grit." Drawing on her own powerful story as the daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of "genius," Duckworth, now a celebrated researcher and professor, describes her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience, which led to the hypothesis that what really drives success is not "genius" but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance.

How Exceptional Black Women Lead brings together compelling research, hard data, and generously shared personal advice to unlock the secrets to exceptional success for today’s Black woman. Shared in these pages are perspectives gathered from 70 exceptional Black women leaders, each who've blazed a trail in corporations, non-profit organizations, as public servants, activists, elected officials, entertainers or entrepreneurs. From the C-Suite to the Streets, and even to the Halls of Congress, How Exceptional Black Women Lead relays the strategies and techniques that result in breaking away from the pack, making your mark, and overcoming the layered challenges every Black woman faces on her way to the top.

Over 100 exceptional and influential women describe how they embraced their creative spirit, overcame adversity, and sparked a global movement of entrepreneurship. Media titans and ceramicists, hoteliers and tattoo artists, comedians and architects--taken together, these profiles paint a beautiful picture of what happens when we pursue our passions and dreams.

It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be is a handbook of how to succeed in the world: a pocket bible for the talented and timid alike to help make the unthinkable thinkable and the impossible possible. The world's top advertising guru, Paul Arden, offers up his wisdom on issues as diverse as problem solving, responding to a brief, communicating, playing your cards right, making mistakes, and creativity - all endeavors that can be applied to aspects of modern life. This uplifting and humorous little book provides a unique insight into the world of advertising and is a quirky compilation of quotes, facts, pictures, wit and wisdom - all packed into easy‐to‐digest, bite‐sized spreads. If you want to succeed in life or business, this book is a must.

Sheryl Sandberg's business advice book, Lean In,was heralded as a defining moment in attitudes to women in business. But for all its commercial success, it proposed a model of feminism that was individualistic and unthreatening to capital. In her powerful debut work Lean Out,acclaimed journalist Dawn Foster unpicks how the purportedly feminist message of Sandberg's book neatly exempts patriarchy, capitalism and business from any responsibility for changing the position of women in contemporary culture. It looks at the rise of a corporate '1% feminism', and at how feminism has been defanged and depoliticised at a time when women have borne the brunt of the financial crash and the gap between rich and poor is widening faster than ever. Surveying business, media, culture and politics, Foster asks whether this 'trickledown' feminism offers any material gain for women collectively, or acts as mere window-dressing PR for the corporations who caused the financial crash. She concludes that 'leaning out' of the corporate model is a more effective way of securing change than leaning in.

For women entrepreneurs (and anyone launching a startup from scratch), this smart, snappy guide presents 50 proven ways to leapfrog over road blocks to growth and success. Through her extensive experience in the startup world, Nathalie Molina Nino, a serial entrepreneur and CEO of BRAVA Investments, discovered that women entrepreneurs face unique hurdles in launching and scaling their businesses. Often deprived of the access to support, resources, and capital their male counterparts enjoy, they need simple, effective ways to "leapfrog" over these barriers to the success they deserve. Leapfrog offers 50 proven hacks to help women entrepreneurs (and anyone launching a startup from scratch) take their businesses to the next level. Based on the Athena Core 10, a unique set of leadership values Nathalie helped develop at Barnard, as well as anecdotes and advice from well-known trailblazers, this inspiring book lays out powerful strategies and shortcuts for business growth, such as- - Sell it, then build it - Document your non-negotiables and take care of those first - Bypass VC bias (and BS) with crowdfunding - Put friends, family, and community to work.

Forge a Future That Serves All Look around. Every day, whether you're on a morning commute to work or even driving through towns on vacation, you may pass neighborhoods that are largely abandoned or underutilized. Perhaps they were great places at one point but as the economy continues to change and evolve, there becomes a great need for leaders to address these problems, to invoke real-world solutions.That's where Dr. Kimberly Townsend hopes to provide answers to share both her professional and personal experiences to clear a path toward making the world a better place. In Lifecircle Leadership: How Exceptional People Make Every Day Extraordinary, Dr. Townsend shares valuable insight into creating a better environment for all. You'll learn about: how to create a positive and uplifting environment in the workplace, what makes a good leader and how to empower others, and the importance of reaching out to the community to truly make a difference.There is too much negativity in the world today. But does that have to always be the case? Change happens one step at a time and you have to be willing to take that first step. Once you do, the rewards will more than justify your efforts.

This book will help entrepreneurs, (or those who love them), discover how to harness their ADHD for maximum creativity, focus, and productivity, while learning how to manage the downsides and eliminate obstacles, so that they can achieve even more success.

Mental Toughness for Women Leaders: 52 Tips To Recognize and Utilize Your Greatest Strengths by LaRae Quy empowers women to grow as leaders so they can break down obstacles, make crucial decisions, and find ways to move forward when conditions are not perfect. Whether the goal is advancing your career, getting your voice heard, or balancing the demands of work and home, this book will show you how mentally strong women manage their emotions and behaviors in ways that set them up for success in life. Most references to mental toughness imply we bulldoze our way through roadblocks that threaten to derail career goals. But mental toughness has little to do with physical strength or aggressive behavior; instead, it is understanding how to control the way your mind thinks. In Mental Toughness for Women Leaders, former FBI undercover and counterintelligence agent LaRae Quy shares how she created a strong mind by overcoming obstacles she encountered while at the FBI Academy, working in a male-dominated environment, and recruiting foreign spies to work for the U.S. Government.

Despite popular belief to the contrary, entrepreneurship in the United States is dying. It has been since before the Great Recession of 2008, and the negative trend in American entrepreneurship has been accelerated by the Covid pandemic. New firms are being started at a slower rate, are employing fewer workers, and are being formed disproportionately in just a few major cities in the U.S. At the same time, large chains are opening more locations. Companies such as Amazon with their "deliver everything and anything" are rapidly displacing Main Street businesses. In The New Builders, we tell the stories of the next generation of entrepreneurs -- and argue for the future of American entrepreneurship. That future lies in surprising places -- and will in particular rely on the success of women, Black and brown entrepreneurs. Our country hasn''t yet even recognized the identities of the New Builders, let alone developed strategies to support them. Our misunderstanding is driven by a core misperception. Consider a "typical" American entrepreneur. Think about the entrepreneur who appears on TV, the business leader making headlines during the pandemic. Think of the type of businesses she or he is building, the college or business school they attended, the place they grew up. The image you probably conjured is that of a young, white male starting a technology business. He''s likely in Silicon Valley. Possibly New York or Boston. He''s self-confident, versed in the ins and outs of business funding and has an extensive (Ivy League?) network of peers and mentors eager to help his business thrive, grow and make millions, if not billions. You''d think entrepreneurship is thriving, and helping the United States maintain its economic power. You''d be almost completely wrong. The dominant image of an entrepreneur as a young white man starting a tech business on the coasts isn''t correct at all. Today''s American entrepreneurs, the people who drive critical parts of our economy, are more likely to be female and non-white. In fact, the number of women-owned businesses has increased 31 times between 1972 and 2018 according to the Kauffman Foundation (in 1972, women-owned businesses accounted for just 4.6% of all firms; in 2018 that figure was 40%). The fastest-growing group of female entrepreneurs are women of color, who are responsible for 64% of new women-owned businesses being created. In a few years, we believe women will make up more than half of the entrepreneurs in America. The age of the average American entrepreneur also belies conventional wisdom: It''s 42. The average age of the most successful entrepreneurs -- those in the top .01% in terms of their company''s growth in the first five years -- is 45. These are the New Builders. Women, people of color, immigrants and people over 40. We''re failing them. And by doing so, we are failing ourselves. In this book, you''ll learn: How the definition of business success in America today has grown corporate and around the concepts of growth, size, and consumption. Why and how our collective understanding of "entrepreneurship" has dangerously narrowed. Once a broad term including people starting businesses of all types, entrepreneurship has come to describe only the brash technology founders on the way to becoming big. Who are the fastest growing groups of entrepreneurs? What are they working on? What drives them? The real engine that drove Silicon Valley''s entrepreneurs. The government had a much bigger role than is widely known The extent to which entrepreneurs and small businesses are woven through our history, and the ways we have forgotten women and people of color who owned small businesses in the past. How we''re increasingly afraid to fail The role small businesses are playing saving the wilderness, small towns and redlined communities What we can do to turn the decline in entrepreneurship around, especially be supporting the people who are courageously starting small companies today.

The Oxford Handbook of Meaningful Work examines the concept, practices and effects of meaningful work in organizations and beyond. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this volume reflects diverse scholarly contributions to understanding meaningful work from philosophy, political theory,psychology, sociology, organizational studies, and economics.In philosophy and political theory, treatments of meaningful work have been influenced by debates concerning the tensions between work as unavoidable and necessary, and work as a source of self-realization and human flourishing. This tension has come into renewed focus as work is reshaped bytechnology, globalization, and new forms of organization. In management studies, much empirical work has focused on meaningful work from the perspective of positive psychology, but more recent research has considered meaningful work as a complex phenomenon, socially constructed from interactiveprocesses between individuals, and between individuals, organizations, and society. This Handbook examines meaningful work in the context of moral and pragmatic concerns such as human flourishing, dignity, alienation, freedom, and organizational ethics.The collection illuminates the relationship of meaningful work to organizational constructs of identity, belonging, callings, self-transcendence, culture, and occupations. Representing some of the most up to date academic research, the editors aim to inspire and equip researchers by identifying newdirections and methods with which to deepen scholarly inquiry into a topic of growing importance.

In this highly inspirational book, Kaplan uses a unique approach that combines optimal mindset with experiential leadership to provide you with the greatest opportunity for success. His 30 years of successful military and business experience lays a solid foundation to provide exacting strategies for both personal and professional development. He offers an in-depth approach to taking control of your life and successfully reach the goals you set for yourself despite any obstacles you believe stand in your way. The Prior-Service Entrepreneur is MUCH more than a book for starting a business; it provides valuable insights into life skills, job readiness and mastering your competitive advantage. It will show you how to overcome personal challenges, increase confidence and reinvigorate your passion and sense of purpose.

Hustle culture isn't working for women. If you've ever: had too many things to do and not enough time to do them; lost focus of your priorities and questioned your lack of motivation or drive; believed that if you slowed down, your business would fail and the life you have worked so hard to create would crumble, you're not alone. Entrepreneur, bestselling author, and business coach Jadah Sellner knows what it's like to be burned out, in debt, and just barely holding on to a new business. In the process of launching and building multiple companies, she realized today's aggressive 24/7 hustle culture wasn't working for her--or for her clients. In She Builds, Sellner shares a new entrepreneurial model for women, centered on sustainable leadership--a practical framework they can use to create a business on their own terms, prioritize their well-being, and break free from the toxic culture that leads to burnout.

A groundbreaking and fascinating investigation into the transformative effects of exercise on the brain, from the bestselling author and renowned psychiatrist John J. Ratey, MD. Did you know you can beat stress, lift your mood, fight memory loss, sharpen your intellect, and function better than ever simply by elevating your heart rate and breaking a sweat? The evidence is incontrovertible: Aerobic exercise physically remodels our brains for peak performance. In Spark, John J. Ratey, M.D., embarks upon a fascinating and entertaining journey through the mind-body connection, presenting startling research to prove that exercise is truly our best defense against everything from depression to ADD to addiction to aggression to menopause to Alzheimer's. Filled with amazing case studies (such as the revolutionary fitness program in Naperville, Illinois, which has put this school district of 19,000 kids first in the world of science test scores), Spark is the first book to explore comprehensively the connection between exercise and the brain. It will change forever the way you think about your morning run -- -or, for that matter, simply the way you think.

A blueprint for thriving in your job and building a career by applying the lessons of Silicon Valley's most innovative entrepreneurs.   LinkedIn cofounder and chairman Reid Hoffman and author Ben Casnocha show how to accelerate your career in today's competitive world. The key is to manage your career as if it were a start-up business: a living, breathing, growing start-up of you.   Why? Start-ups--and the entrepreneurs who run them--are nimble. They invest in themselves. They build their professional networks. They take intelligent risks. They make uncertainty and volatility work to their advantage.   These are the very same skills professionals need to get ahead today.   This book isn't about cover letters or resumes. Instead, you will learn the best practices of Silicon Valley start-ups, and how to apply these entrepreneurial strategies to your career.A revolutionary new guide to thriving in today's fractured world of work, the strategies in this book will help you survive and thrive and achieve your boldest professional ambitions. The Start-Up of You empowers you to become the CEO of your career and take control of your future.

Become more culturally competent in an increasingly diverse world Recent years have seen dramatic changes to several institutions worldwide. Our increasingly interconnected, digitized, and globalized world presents immense opportunities and unique challenges. Modern businesses and schools interact with individuals and organizations from a diverse range of cultural and national backgrounds--increasing the likelihood for miscommunication, errors in strategy, and unintended consequences in the process. This has also spilled into our daily lives and the way we consume information today. Understanding how to navigate these and other pitfalls requires adaptability, nuanced cross-cultural communication, and effective conflict resolution. Use Your Difference to Make a Difference provides readers with a skills-based, actionable plan that transforms differences into agents of inclusiveness, connection, and mutual understanding. This innovative and timely guide illustrates how to leverage differences to move beyond unconscious biases, manage a culturally-diverse workplace, create an environment for more tolerant schooling environments, more trusted media, communicate across borders, find and retain diverse talent, and bridge the gap between working locally and expanding globally. Expert guidance on a comprehensive range of topics--teamwork, leadership styles, information sharing, delegation, supervision, giving and receiving feedback, coaching and motivation, recruiting, managing suppliers and customers, and more--helps you manage the essential aspects of international relationships and cultural awareness. This valuable resource contains the indispensable knowledge required to: Develop self-awareness needed to be a cross-cultural communicator Develop content, messaging techniques, marketing plans, and business strategies that translate across cultural borders Help your employees to better understand and collaborate with clients and colleagues from different backgrounds Help teachers build safe environments for students to be themselves Strengthen cross-cultural competencies in yourself, your team, and your entire organization Understand the cultural, economic, and political factors surrounding our world Use Your Difference to Make a Difference is a must-have resource for any educator, parent, leader, manager, or team member of an organization that interacts with co-workers and customers from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Vital Voices: 100 Women Using Their Power to Empower celebrates 100 global female leaders who are redefining power. Candid and compelling, each leader shares personal stories, insights and ideas, showing us that women lead differently and that this difference is sorely needed in our world today. While each woman is path-breaking in her own right, it's together that these 100 voices illustrate the transformative power of women's leadership across cultures, industries and generations. A celebration of women's suffrage and gender equality through the use of visual and anecdotal story-telling as told through the eyes of 100 global women leaders who are redefining power, and using their power to strengthen female relationships across the globe. Some of the women featured in the book include Serena Williams, Hillary Clinton, Christine Legarde, Greta Thunberg, and Samar Minall Ah Khan.

What Makes a Leader: Why Emotional Intelligence Matters presents Daniel Goleman's groundbreaking, highly-sought Harvard Business Review and other articles compiled in one volume. This often-cited, proven-effective material has become essential reading for leaders, coaches and educators committed to fostering stellar management, increasing performance, and driving innovation.

From one of California's most celebrated librarians and public historians, a coming-of-age memoir about the thirst for knowledge and hometown pride. "What You Don't Know will inspire for its grace, zest and courage." --Joan Frank, San Francisco Chronicle Dorothy Lazard grew up in the Bay Area of the 1960s and '70s, surrounded by an expansive network of family, and hungry for knowledge. Here in her first book, she vividly tells the story of her journey to becoming "queen of my own nerdy domain." Today Lazard is celebrated for her distinguished career as a librarian and public historian, and in these pages she connects her early intellectual pursuits--including a formative encounter with Alex Haley--to the career that made her a community pillar. As she traces her trajectory to adulthood, she also explores her personal experiences connected to the Summer of Love, the murder of Emmett Till, the flourishing of the Black Arts Movement, and the redevelopment of Oakland. As she writes with honesty about the tragedies she faced in her youth--including the loss of both parents--Lazard's memoir remains triumphant, animated by curiosity, careful reflection, and deep enthusiasm for life.

Claudia Reuter left a promising corporate career to raise her two young children but realized, when re-entering the workforce, that the gap in her resume looked like a gap in ambition--not a purposeful plan. Instead of leaning into a corporate career and fighting the structures and systems designed by and for men decades ago, or leaning out and giving up income, Claudia took a different path. That decision ultimately led to success in the corporate world and at home. In Yes, You Can Do This!, Claudia shares her own reasons for starting a business and makes a call to action for women to consider entrepreneurship so that they can create businesses with the rules they want and change the playing field for others, making a significant impact in the world. Yes, You Can Do This! provides clear examples and practical resources to help others create the life they want through entrepreneurship.