Playing With the Big Boys [Hardcover]

Debra Pestrak (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001

What do you need to be more successful in your career today? Learn from the collective experience of today's most successful female executives as they reveal how they worked their way to the top while sharing their personal stories of inspiration and encouragement. Regardless of your organization size or where you are in your career, you'll find these must-know skills critical to your success.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Through interviews, nine executives share their insights into the world of business and give valuable advice on how to succeed in that milieu today. Ambitious and driven, they talk about learning the unwritten rules of an organization, getting the support of family and coworkers, and leading a balanced life. All of these women worked their way up the corporate ladder to get to their positions as CEOs, presidents, or vice-presidents of prominent companies. Many are pioneers in their fields. Although there are a couple of interesting anecdotes regarding struggles with unenlightened coworkers, there is no sense of bitterness-each person dealt with sexism in her own way and never stopped reaching for the top. The author discusses such topics as strengths women bring to the business world and the internal and external barriers they face in the workplace. A final chapter distills advice from the interviewees into a series of "Top Ten Success Nuggets" with a checklist of attributes and questions. Lists of Fortune 500 companies considered favorable for women and types of industries considered best and worst for women wishing to become corporate officers are appended. The practical advice given here leaves readers with a can-do feeling.
Sheila Shoup, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Sun Publications; 1st edition (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931034060
• ISBN-13: 978-1931034067
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,856,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Candid, emphatic advice, encouragement, and critical skills, March 19, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Playing With the Big Boys (Hardcover)

In Playing With The Big Boys: Success Secrets Of The Most Powerful Women In Business, Debra Pestrak offers candid, emphatic advice, encouragement, and critical skills required on the part of female entrepreneurs and corporate executives seeking to be successful in a male dominated business world. Pestrak draws upon top Fortune 5000 female executives to reveal tips, tricks and techniques any woman can use to achieve business success in today's highly competitive and globalized market place. Replete with true-life stories of women who have joined the upper echelons within a corporate America, Playing With The Big Boys offers the tools women need to successfully accomplish personal, economic, and entrepreneurial achievement and prosperity.

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn from the "big boys," too!, September 14, 2003

By 

Marion E. Gold "Book Author & Editorial Writer" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Playing With the Big Boys (Hardcover)

The "big boys" learned long ago how to create networks and gain visibility through "personal publicity," aka "toot your own horn!" Women generally show far too much humility about their talents and skills. If we want people to value our skills, we must first show that we value ourselves -- by making sure our accomplishments are visible to targeted audiences. If we want people to hire us, promote us, buy from us or invest in our companies, they have to know who we are, what we have accomplished and why they should do business with us! Self-promotion isn't bragging. It is a valuable business tool that career women must add to their strategies for success. (from Marion E. Gold, award-winning author of "The Personal Publicity Planner: A Guide to Marketing YOU")

5.0 out of 5 stars Success secrets of some of the most powerful businesswomen, March 12, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Playing With the Big Boys (Hardcover)

Playing With The Big Boys reveals the success secrets of some of the most powerful, notable women in business, revealing top Fortune 500 women who reveal how they climbed to the top. They come from different backgrounds yet have shared traits which others can learn from in this revealing, reality-based guide.