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When Money Isn't Enough: How Women Are Finding the Soul of Success

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Even as more and more women shatter the glass ceiling to reach corporate heights once closed to them, some of the most successful are backing down the ladder. Women are redefining success, say Connie Glaser and Barbara Smalley in their newest book, When Money Isn't Enough, and their definitions include more than a soaring career. There must be time for family, and time for themselves. Finding balance, say the authors, "enables us to enjoy our work, and keeps our lives from spinning out of control."

Brenda Barnes made front page news when she stepped down as president and chief executive of Pepsi Cola North America in 1997. But she wasn't the only woman in recent years to make headlines because of a decision to resign from a high-profile position. Ricki R. Helfer, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) resigned; Anna Quindlen quit the New York Times; Patty Stonesifer left her position as head of Microsoft's Interactive Media Division; and the list goes on. "And what's the driving force behind these bailouts? A personal choice to shift priorities and a firm belief that self-fulfillment is far more critical to success than power, prestige, and personal profit."

Headline-makers aren't the only ones bailing out; thousands more are following suit for the same motives. Christy Richter worked her way into a Wall Street career selling money market accounts and earning bonuses that often exceeded her salary. "But Richter wasn't happy. 'I loved my clients, the markets, and the money,' she reports. 'But I was always having stress disorders, including TMJ and back problems. And my body was telling me to do something different.'"

"Richter decided to take a leave of absence ... during which she spent most of her time biking long distances, studying yoga, and mastering massage techniques that had helped her cope for so many years. When she returned to work three months later, it was only to resign. 'The second I stepped on the escalator at the World Trade Center, the hair on the back of my neck literally stood up,' she recalls. 'So I decided it was time to fire myself.'"

Richter opened a yoga and body works studio, and now teaches yoga and gives massages to relieve for others the same stresses she once endured.

Glaser and Smalley have interviewed dozens of women like Richter, and their stories are inspiring and hopeful. Some have had to deal with backlash from those who say they just couldn't cut it, but all have stood their ground, opting to decide for themselves what success means. Every woman's scenario for success is different. As the authors put it, "success is no longer one-size-fits-all."

The balance women seek is fulfillment in all the areas of our lives: work, personal and family. For some women, finding that balance will mean plateauing on a lower rung of the old success ladder, or opting out of the corporate world altogether. A few companies have seen the trend and are creating policies and programs that respond to employees' needs for a life beyond the office. Glaser and Smalley give Xerox credit for being one of the companies that is breaking new ground with their work-life initiatives. Establishing an environment wherein "people and teams are empowered to make the decision to be flexible, as long as business goals are met," has resulted in a jump in the number of employees on nontraditional schedules from 2 percent to 85 percent. And absenteeism has been cut in half. Clearly, work-family benefits can be a win-win situation.

If your friends are like my friends, whenever you get together, the conversation always comes around to the subject of time, and how there's just not enough of it. Not enough time to do all the things we really want to do - for ourselves, our families, our friends - because we are all too busy doing all the things we must do - for our jobs or businesses. The stories Smalley and Glaser have collected prove that we can restructure our lives to make time for what is important to us. It's time to say goodby to the Superwoman image of the 90s, say the authors, and look for a new icon "committed to reaping rich rewards beyond the bottom line."

To help the reader figure out her own game plan for a joyful and fulfilling life, Glaser and Smalley have included a comprehensive list of resources for inspiration and guidance.

Glaser and Smalley are among the most influential of current business scholars because they think so clearly and write so well while discussing the most important issues. Perhaps you have already read their Swim with the Dolphins. If not, you are urged to do so. In this book, they focus on an especially timely subject: The importance of "soul" in the equation for "success." In recent years, I have examined the results of more than 30 "employee satisfaction" surveys and was surprised, frankly, by what were rated the highest attributes: feeling appreciated, being treated with respect, believing in the value of the work to be done, enjoying the work to be done, and trusting the organization by which one is employed. What about compensation? Depending upon the individual survey, it was ranked anywhere from ninth to thirteen in importance. For those who participated in the surveys and probably for most other workers, money is never enough and seldom most important. The authors ask all of the right questions but, to their credit, resist the temptation to advocate any ":right answers." That responsibility they entrust to each reader. Although this is another of recently published books which have a gender-specific frame-of-reference, almost everything the authors share can also be of substantial value to men...not only to understand much better their mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, business associates, etc. but, more to the point, to understand themselves much better.

Authors Connie Brown Glaser and Barbara Steinberg Smalley deftly combine solid reporting of facts, figures and poll results with insightful stories about women who have abandoned the corporate rat race. This concise look at a pivotal trend is not limited to women only, though they are its emphasis. The authors introduce high-powered executive women who seek more purpose, balance and fulfillment, and find it by taking less stressful positions, starting their own businesses or switching careers. Much of the story is told through the personal case histories of corporate strivers who decide to chuck it all and go home. Many of these pioneers asked, "What good is all this money when I have no time to enjoy it?" They got tired of being "corporate machines," sick of jeopardizing their health and their important relationships. While many employers now understand that satisfaction, purposefulness and appreciation can trump money, some ground still need to get broken here. We highly recommend this book to people at all levels in the work force because it will help you consider your destiny - even if you love the electricity of corporate life and would be bored to tears making gift baskets in your garage.

I am a professional personnel who dove head first into being a stay at home mom - who misses the professional world, but knows she is in the right place w/kids right now, home - it can be a shocker. Even with all of the stay at home mom stress, it's worth it to me to make $0 and stay home with our kids. The biggest lesson I've learned these past 4 years is to take care of your mind, body and spirit (self-esteem). This book shows others (even non-moms) how they can regain balance in their lives by determining what they love to do and shifting their professional gears to a more fulfilling position. Excellent read!

Connie Glaser is right on target. All who have not read her book, When Money Isn't Enough, get it. She shares with us reality today. It is tough. The time pressures and family pressures are a reality. Nobody outlines the current environment and the choices better than Connie Glaser in this very special book. It is command reading for everyone, woman and man alike. Give it to your colleagues and discuss the challenges. Glaser makes us stop and reflect on choices we all have. Congratulations to Connie Glaser and all of us will be helped with the right balance we choose. Her work advances our own thinking.

"When Money Isn't Enough: How Women Are Finding the Soul of Success" is a must read for all of us out in the workplace who are struggling to find meaning, balance, and purpose in our lives. It's an enjoyable read from start to finish with insightful stories of successful women who have made significant changes in their lives. And, it has the signature of Glaser and Smalley's previous work: practical tips, how to's, and detailed references.

Chapter 11 and the Resources Section are particularly helpful. As a college teacher I will definitely recommend it to my students. Actually, it should be required reading for all who struggle with that word "success"!

The authors have done an outstanding job by communicating to readers how to acheive fufilling, balanced life-styles. The stories are great lessons for women who are questioning the meaning of success. Is it how much money you make or how much time you have to relax and enjoy your family and friends?

This book provides inspiration for women who desire something more than a title and a six-figure salary. Success is defined many different ways by the women featured in this book. The numerous examples of redefined success are refreshing and thought provoking.