Cambridge Business Association
How She Does It
Book

How She Does It

How Women Entrepreneurs Are Changing the Rules of Business Success

Margaret Heffernan
Viking, 2007
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

If you’re expecting a feminist manifesto here, you won’t find it. Margaret Heffernan, CEO of five companies, lets stories do the talking as she shows how women manage their businesses and break new ground. In fact, whether you’re male or female, your business can benefit from the principles of these entrepreneurs. Anyone with an open mind can adopt the book’s key points, attitudes and cultural guidelines, as reflected in an array of educational and often humorous stories. getAbstract thinks Heffernan’s cast of female business leaders points entrepreneurs in the right direction and offers plenty of ideas to consider while on the road to success.

Summary

What Motivates Women to Start Businesses?

Women don’t want to play passive roles in corporations or work for bosses who don’t respect them, so many of them quit their jobs and start businesses. They don’t usually do it for the money – at least, that’s not their first priority. They long to feel valued, not stuck in dead-end jobs. They want to show what they can do and to do their work, their way.

In the U.S., women-run businesses are growing faster than other businesses in size and profit. Women’s intense motivation – and their methods – boost their firms’ chances of success. While most women start businesses for themselves, many end up working hard for their employees. They want to help them succeed both at work and in life. One high-tech CEO convinced an employee to have laser eye surgery when she noticed that he kept leaving his glasses at home. She also invested in training an uneducated employee, who subsequently learned to handle big jobs.

Although some call it a fluke or luck, women are tuned into the zeitgeist, which often enables them to identify and satisfy consumers’ needs. They see opportunities and take advantage of them. Paige Arnoff-Fenn...

About the Author

Margaret Heffernan has been the CEO of five businesses in two countries and a producer with the BBC. She also contributes to Fast Company and Real Business magazines.

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