Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook

by Gary Vaynerchuk
4/5 stars
HarperBusiness, 2013
188 pages
Non-Fiction Business Marketing

Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

I made a bit of a mistake when picking out this book for review. I saw the subtitle and thought it was related to telling a personal professional story, to working on an elevator pitch of your skills and pluses, and ways to get hired or at least get your foot in the door. Instead this book is more focused on how brands/businesses can use social media to their fullest advantage. While I think some of these techniques can be adapted on a more personal scale (choosing the right message on the right platform at the right time comes to mind), for the most part it was not as personally applicable as I had hoped.

However it did become incredibly fascinating as Vaynerchuk presented case studies of what he considered successful and unsuccessful uses of different media. For example, who told a good story on Facebook? Who confused quantity with quality on Twitter? Deconstructing these examples along with Vaynerchuk was definitely my favorite part of the book and helped me get through what I considered less interesting sections of just text. These bits are loaded with personality and I zipped through them.

I've mostly stayed off most social media, excepting a personal facebook account and linkedin profile, blog twitter, and a mixed Pinterest account. I just don't have the time and energy to properly devote to each channel (and quite frankly I haven't had much interest.) However this book has me seriously considering getting a tumblr and/or instagram account; just because. I also feel like it has opened my eyes to all the marketing that is done to me. I hope to be able to more critically evaluate future efforts because of reading this book.

Something that is applicable I feel are his emphasis on putting forth to understand what you can accomplish with the media and putting your own personal touch on this. Those are good attitudes to take across many arenas and I will certainly be evaluating how I can implement them in my own (non-marketing) career.

Recommended for marketers of products of all sizes; may be less interesting on a personal level.

I Shouldn't Be Telling You This

by Kate White
4/5 stars
HarperBusiness, 2013
345 pages
Non-Fiction Business Women

Source: Library

I found myself intrigued by White's previous title Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead...But Gutsy Girls Do but my library didn't have a copy of that so I settled for her newer release, assuming that it would also feature interesting information that was still applicable for a young woman at the beginning of career.

That it does as the writing is very chatty and personal. White used to be editor-in-chief at Cosmopolitan magazine and loved writing the copy for the cover. The chapters are short and snappy, reflecting this background. I think some women will not click with this kind of writing but I found it easily digestible and even though I told myself I would just read one more chapter, I inevitably found myself reading several until I finished.

The book is divided into three sections: Getting Success, Going Big with Success, and Savoring Success. I found the last one the least relevant as it assumes a level of success that I have not yet attained though it does hammer home that the success won't be worth it if I'm burned out and unable to enjoy myself. I preferred the first two, finding more that related to me where I am now.

One of the things I valued most about this book was White sharing about her successes. Initially it annoyed me as I found it braggy. That might be the point though as I've read that women aren't necessarily very good at sharing their accomplishments even though they have accomplished amazing things. This led to me reflecting on what my major achievements were this year and how I could frame them in more casual atmospheres outside of my formal performance review. I want people to know how fantastic I am at my job and I don't want to automatically bristle when I hear about other people's excellent work. Another point I valued was shared early on, being "Go big or go home." Certainly I've heard this before, as have you I'm sure, but this time it really struck me. I think of myself as a generally pretty passionate person; when I'm in, I'm all in and I want to reflect that at work.

Overall: A fun conversational read that left me feeling very cheered on and all fired up to tackle big projects and do awesome work as I scale the career ladder!

Women Who Don't Wait in Line

by Reshma Saujani
4/5 stars
New Harvest, 2013
123 pages
Non-Fiction Women's Business

Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

As I've repeatedly mentioned on my blog, I have found myself drawn to books about women in business, seeking guidance on my fledgling career. The title for this book immediately caught my eye as I've read about women being more likely to hold back and not go after what they want in comparison to bolder men. I thought it would be an interesting read as I aspire to dare and take big strides in my career progression.

In general I found this a pretty absorbing albeit light read. The specifics of Saujani's path were fascinating (she ran for Congress unsuccessfully in 2010) and I appreciated the enthusiasm she has about women aspiring to ever higher levels in their career. However I'm not sure how much I can concretely apply to my own career and most of the ideas provided are ones I've read about elsewhere. Also this book is quite short so it does not allow Saujani to flesh out everything that she might at a longer length.

Of most interest to me was her pushing women to pursue STEM careers. I kind of wish I had taken the opportunity to explore that path especially if I had taken a computer science class. I will certainly encourage the young women in my life to consider such work and hope that others will be encouraged, whether through encountering this book or possibly through the Girls Who Code foundation begun by Saujani. I love the idea of people being supported as they try something new that could end up being a lifelong passion.

Overall: Not a must-read but if you like the genre, worth reading.