Influence: How Women's Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better [Hardcover]

Maddy Dychtwald (Author), Christine Larson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 4, 2010

"Influence is the essential guide to a revolutionary trend that will completely alter our world. Everyone needs to read this book to comprehend the sea-change that's coming. Dychtwald's mesmerizing and insightful book takes us all on a journey into our future. Get ready." --Dr. James Canton, CEO and Chairman, Institute for Global Futures

"It's rapidly dawning on women that their growing economic power offers a tremendous opportunity to . . . change lives, markets, and the environment, simultaneously. Maddy Dychtwald has captured this speeding train with insight, data, and substance . . . A must-read." --Cathie Black, President, Hearst Magazines

"When you read this information-packed, story-filled, and very encouraging book, you'll feel renewed hope that women will be able to shape the future significantly, for the good of all of us." --Andrea Dew Steele, Founder and President, Emerge America

"Influence shows us a tectonic shift in gender roles, responsibilities, and possibilities . . . a book with the potential to change the consciousness of everyone who reads it, and, so, to help bring about the very improvements it describes." --Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)

"Dychtwald's book title says it all . . . A great read for anyone who wants the latest thinking, insights, and case studies from the front lines of women's advancement efforts--and, importantly, how you as an individual can help." --Beth Brooke, Global Vice Chair of Public Policy, Ernst & Young

"Influence is an imperative measure of the great 21st-Century Economic Evolution propelled by the distinctive determination of women." --Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, Founder and CEO, Women's Forum for the Economy & Society

"Women don't usually run for elected office unless they are asked to run--several times . . . Influence convincingly asks women--more than several times--to see their opportunities for leadership and to seize them. We know that when you add women, you change everything. Let's do it!" --Marie C. Wilson, Founder and President, The White House Project

"Dychtwald and Larson show how women are gaining power and influence . . . [and] changing the world for the better. Eye-opening and encouraging." --Robert B. Reich, Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley, and former U.S. Secretary of Labor

In the United States and in very many nations around the world, women are on the cusp of new financial power--and evidence suggests that women will use this power to improve society in ways we can only begin to imagine. Through candid interviews and lively reporting, and with exclusive research, Dychtwald reveals a huge cultural transformation that is about to occur--a true tipping point--after which more children may have quality health care and education, workplaces may be more responsive to families, men may experience new freedoms and opportunities to pursue more meaningful careers, and more corporations and nations will be led by women, and they will thrive.

Dychtwald and Larson give us a sneak peek at the world turned right-side-up by women. To read this book is to prepare oneself for an altered--and improved--way of life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dychtwald, a demographer and marketing executive, provides a riveting exploration of female economic emancipation in the 21stcentury as unprecedented numbers of women all over the world are becoming financially powerful enough to stand on their own and tip global power balances: individually, as their attitudes toward money changes; in the home; in the work place; and in society at large, as gender gaps in health and education in even the poorest nations are narrowing. Dychtwald shows how women are upending the status quo in corporate America through this rapid economic shift and offers a welcome, more micro look with her five money profiles—archetypal ways that modern women relate to their money, how financially self-confident they feel, and what they expect their money to do for them. She provides fascinating glimpses of women from all corners of the globe who are taking advantage of this change, from Uganda to Northern California, and her rousing and well-researched book contains valuable insight into a pivotal movement that holds vast and heartening advancements. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Maddy Dychtwald is a nationally recognized author, public speaker, marketing executive and entrepreneur. One of the nation's leading experts on the lifestyle, marketing, and retirement implications of the "age wave," she has spent more than twenty years deeply involved in exploring all aspects of this subject. In 1986, together with her husband, Ken, she co-founded Age Wave, a firm created to guide Fortune 500 companies and government groups in product/service development for boomers and mature adults. During her first decade at Age Wave, she helped grow the company from the ground up to a multi-million dollar enterprise with a reputation as the best in its field.

Ms. Dychtwald is the author of two books, has been featured in numerous articles in leading newspapers and magazines nationwide, including Advertising Age, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, and US News and World Report, and has appeared on countless radio and television programs.

A graduate of New York University, Maddy, her husband, Ken, and their two children make their home in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Voice; First Edition edition (May 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401341020
• ISBN-13: 978-1401341022
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #797,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Maddy Dychtwald is a nationally recognized author, public speaker, marketing executive and entrepreneur. She has spent nearly twenty-five years deeply involved in exploring and forecasting demographic, lifestyle and consumer marketing trends. With her husband, Ken, she co-founded Age Wave, the nation's foremost thought-leader on population aging and its profound business, lifestyle and cultural implications. As a public speaker, she has addressed business, government, and community leaders worldwide. She is the author of "INFLUENCE: How Women's Rising Economic Power will Transform Our World for the Better," "Cycles: How We Will Live, Work, and Buy" and an illustrated children's book, "Gideon's Dream: A Tale of New Beginnings" (co-authored with her husband, Ken, and Dave and Grace Zaboski.) Maddy lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband Ken and her two children.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars biased but worthwhile and well written July 29, 2010

By Loren Woirhaye VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I'm a guy, but I'm very receptive to women's issues. I think women's rising influence is a good thing. I have some issues with this book. You have plenty of reviews from women who "loved it, loved it, loved it" - which may be useful to you. I didn't love it. I thought it had some strengths and some weaknesses.

I was a little annoyed by the start of the book, because for about 60s pages it goes on about women who "have it all" - finish-rich career options, darling little babies, understanding (doctor, lawyer-type) husbands ...

While the book at times gives a nod of appreciation to women in third world countries, it really focuses too exclusively, in my opinion, on a class of very smart and ambitious women. Too many examples of woman x who gave up her affluent corporate job to raise a child while her lawyer husband brings home the cash. Too many examples of women who ended up with mr. Right, who is sticking around to help her raise a family. A few examples of women who didn't end up with mr. Right but since they have awesome jobs it's ok. What about the women who have the kids but don't have the partner and don't have the awesome job?

The problem with poor people is they aren't glamorous and they aren't intteresting to read about. That's why they don't get much coverage in check-stand tabloids. Only the rich people do.

A woman could be profiled here if she is a single mom (by choice) who gives up a great job to raise her kid. She can be profiled here if she has a great husband who takes care of the kids while she goes out and brings home the bacon - from a very nice job of course... but if she is a mom without a great career and without the uber-husband she is hard to find here.

Yes, this is a book about women who own their own homes and drive nice cars who are juggling career and family. It is not a book about women who are just plain struggling to keep their heads above water.

Of course the non-affluent are not the economically and politically influential people this book wants to be about.

To be fair, it's well written and smartly put together. It's just too rooted in the problems of people working in great jobs with great compensation packages with progressive employers. It's too much about the affluent to realistically take a hard look at the problems it wants to look at.

That's my opinion.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and Inspiring May 10, 2010

By DV

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Like many well-written non-fiction books I find valuable, "Influence" puts facts, figures and a face (through interesting real life stories) to a phenomena that at some level we are aware is unfolding but need an expert to bring into focus for us. After clearly laying out the historical and current context for the growing economic influence of women, Dychtwald challenges the reader to visualize a very inspiring future for both genders.

As an adult male, my personal reading of "Influence" was not strictly through my own eyes but also through the eyes of the three generations of women I hold dear including: my mother, who re-entered the workforce to raise my siblings after my father passed away; my wife, who worked hard, became well-educated and had a successful professional career in the field of law; and my two daughters who are just beginning to write their own unique stories. As a father, "Influence" bolstered my private hope that my daughters should indeed feel free to dream big and pursue a life on their own terms, unencumbered by false gender limits.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An "economic emancipation" of substantial benefit to everyone June 15, 2010

By Robert Morris HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The "soaring economic power" referred to in this book's subtitle is the result of an "economic emancipation [as] women around the world [are] becoming financially powerful enough to stand on their own two feet and tip the power balance, starting with home life, extending to work life, and finally affecting the general society." Maddy Dychtwald goes on to observe, "It's hardly an exaggeration to say that for all of recorded history, women have basically been second-class citizens in a male-dominated world. And it's not ideology to assert that the status of women is changing. What we're seeing now - exponential gains toward self-sufficiency, soaring education rates, mass economic empowerment around the world - are facts. They are history rushing forward. Nothing more, nothing less."

According to Dychtwald, channeling Abraham Maslow's concept of the hierarchy if needs, there are three stages of Economic Power: survival, independence, and influence. As women reach the third stage, they will demonstrate what Maslow characterizes as "self-actualization" and the sooner the better because nations, corporations, and communities "must seek better ways to nurture and harness the full talents of their entire population, both women and men. And there is ample hard evidence to show that tapping women's talents, in every sphere, will make the world more equitable and more prosperous."

Throughout her narrative, Dychtwald draws upon what she learned during more than 100 in-depth interviews of "financially empowered" and "socially enlightened" women, sharing their insights and perspectives. "Three clear trends quickly emerged from out research - trends that were largely on the surface, already supported by private studies, but that hadn't been probed as deeply before. We saw what was happening with women and their money, and with men and their money, but also began to understand why - and what it means for the future> The three trends? They are (1) Money means security to women, freedom to men; (2) Men see themselves as "warriors," women as "worriers"; and (3) Women put the financial needs of others ahead of their own. Dychtwald discusses each of these trends in depth, correlating them with what she identifies as women's five money profiles: Perceptive Planner (35% of U.S. women), Owner Partner (23%), Alpha Female (18%), Uncertain Searcher (16%), and Supportive Traditionalist (8%). "One thing is clear: Any woman who remains an Uncertain Searcher of Supportive Traditionalist faces clear and urgent dangers to her independence and perhaps even to her economic survival.

Dychtwald devotes a separate chapter to each of several major themes such "the entrepreneurial exodus" in business, "rewriting the rules from the outside in" in the workplace, why women ARE the market in the marketplace, "the future of men" at home, "mutiny on Noah's ark" in the family, and "closing the leadership gap" in politics. She then shares her own thoughts as well as others' about various legacies of "women's soaring economic power," legacies whose impact "will transform our world for the better." Of special interest to me is the Nobel Women's Initiative led by the seven (of only twelve) women who have received a Nobel Peace Prize and are still alive. Their purpose is "to promote, spotlight, and grow the work of women's rights advocates and organizations worldwide that address the root causes of violence." At the group's second international conference (in 2009), a declaration was adopted. It serves both as an affirmation of human rights and a call-to-action. "We are in search of democracy that transforms not just our lives, but all society - and we will not be silenced until it is achieved in every part of the world."

In the Epilogue, Dychtwald offers ten specific suggestions as to what her female readers can do, now, to accelerate the progress of the "power shift" underway. My own opinion (and, yes, one man's opinion) is that she misses a precious opportunity to solicit the active support of men, also. (Ironically, her eighth suggestion is "Enlist men.") For too long, in too many societies, freedom and justice have been gender-specific. The human values Maddy Dychtwald affirms and the strategic goals she seeks are not gender-specific. The fact remains, expediting the progress of the "power shift" to economic emancipation which she frequently refers is best achieved by a global coalition of women and men.

You are cordially invited to check out the resources at www.influence-book.com and http://www.maddydychtwald.com/.