The Naked Truth: A Working Woman's Manifesto on Business and What Really Matters (Hardcover)

by Margaret A. Heffernan (Author) "What do you want to be when you grow up?..." (more)
Key Phrases: toxic bosses, start smart, invisible woman, Chris Carosella, Joan Silver, Cindy Solomon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"I never wanted to work in business," writes Heffernan. Twenty years after expressing that sentiment, as CEO of a technology company, she found herself "having the time of my life" and wondered whether she had "completely lost my mind? Or sold my soul?" Heffernan sees "women creating a new business order that places values at the heart of business, takes sustainability seriously, and recognizes that business is and always will be emotional." Eleven chapters are peppered with her own illustrative anecdotes and insights plus those of 63 career women representing a wide variety of positions and professions. These contain instructive descriptions of potential pitfalls and urgent advice, each one ending with a list of "Travel Thoughts" to keep in mind. Readers are told how to climb the corporate ladder, maintain a female identity, navigate toxic environments, see through common fallacies, acquire power, balance work with personal life, break into top management, assert autonomy, strike out on their own and reinvent a "parallel universe" of humanitarian alternatives. Nothing is new or told in a fresh way, but Heffernan delivers the catalogue of female careerist frustration succinctly and sympathetically.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
This book is fresh, honest, and compelling--if only for the dozens of women (and some men!) whose lives and thoughts are excerpted here. What Heffernan--an ex-CEO, consultant, speaker, and former BBC television producer--has compiled is the story of women in corporate America today, who, despite all the hype and hyperbole, have not progressed as far and as fast as has been predicted. Women hold 8 percent of executive titles and 9.9 percent of line positions: statistics revealing the true state of affairs. Frankly autobiographical, the author also shares the experiences of others; specific issues include stereotyping (calling someone a "geisha," "bitch," "guy," or just plain "invisible"), toxic bosses and hostile environments, power, a well-balanced and whole life, exits, career paths, and, ultimately, becoming an internal change agent. There is much good advice (remember to "leave smart") and much to think about, including provocative questions at each chapter's end called "Travel Thoughts." Reassurance--and a reaffirmation. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (September 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078797143X
• ISBN-13: 978-0787971434
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #334,543 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The ugly truth about gender relations in the office, January 22, 2005

By	Diane K. Danielson "CEO, DowntownWomensClub.com" (Cohasset, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Margaret Heffernan has never been afraid to talk about the ugliness that can happen for women in Corporate America. Her new book is no different. It brings up almost every important issue for women trying to climb the traditional corporate ladder. In some cases she offers solutions, either from her own experience and research, or through the shared stories of women she interviewed for the book.

Two things in particular in the book stuck with me. In one section she discusses women and their "relationship" with work. I really liked the use of that word, "relationship." Because I do have a relationship with my work, just like I have a relationship with the people in my life or with money. (I had never really thought about it in that way before.) The second item that struck me was after I read one woman's description of something very sexist that happened in the workplace, I expected the next line to say, "that was ten years ago." Instead, the line was "that was in 2004." I think we need reminding that not everything has changed, and in fact, anything going on now is even worse than ten years ago, because it's 2005, and we all (including the boys) know better.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for working women in any job, October 7, 2004

By	Amy L. Kendall (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Regardless of your career, your career aspirations, your status in the job market, or your status in life, READ THIS BOOK. The author pinpoints those vague, somewhat ambiguous feelings we have all had at our job, affirms that we aren't going crazy, and provides concrete and helpful examples of how to deal with a variety of situations. Most of all, this book gave me hope that there is hope to find a respectful, honest and dynamic place of business that will help me be me.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!, April 18, 2005

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Author and executive Margaret Heffernan fearlessly declares that decades of advice telling business women to act like men, follow traditional rules and cleave to heartless stereotypes are wrong. Breathe a sigh of relief. It's not you; "It's the system, stupid!" In her eyes, the business world inherently does not welcome, respect or value women. Refreshingly, instead of blaming women, the author conveys the advice of hundreds of female survey respondents who say men hold the aces in the business world and don't want to share. Honest, funny and sometimes disconcerting, she offers advice, inspiring examples and helpful stories. She explains how to find or create a humane, cooperative, supportive workplace that fits your principles - and how to make a realistic appraisal if you are at the change-it-or-quit stage. The one shortcoming is the author's absolute unstated assumption that women are innately, inevitably more cooperative, honest and caring than men. This stereotype is a two-edged sword, wounding those men who do have sound values, and reinforcing the typecasting that women ought to be sweet and nurturing because it's in their genes. That aside, we recommend Heffernan's clear view of the hurdles that block a woman's path to business success and work-life balance. She confronts painful realities and adapts them, or adapts to them, even if in nontraditional ways. If you have to be one person at work and someone different at home, her dynamic vision can help you pull it all together.