Additional reporting by Cristie Leondis
Black Enterprise’s next Women of Power Summit will mark its 10-year anniversary next year. The summit, where professional women from all over the country will gather March 2-5, 2015, at the Fort Lauderdale Harbor Beach Resort in Florida, for three days of fellowship, networking, mentoring, and fun.
With Spelman College President Beverly Tatum Ph.D. confirmed as the recipient of this upcoming year’s Barbara Graves Legacy Award, attendees are sure to be in for a treat as the opportunity to rub elbows with some of the most prominent female leaders from various professional fields will be within arm’s reach.
Recognizing the value of professional women sharing their journey to success with other career-driven women, we’ve rounded up a list of power women who’ve used real-life stories and personal experience in business as inspirational energy to pen a book on careers and success.
While no one woman’s success journey is the same as the next, we’re sure that these books will provide professional advice, wisdom, and insight into how you can elevate your career to the next level.
Check out the authors that made our must-read list in preparation for the next Women of Power Summit. Click here for more info on how you can get ahead of the game and register for the don’t-want- to-miss conference of the year.
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS! Join us for the landmark 10th Annual Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit hosted by State Farm, March 2—4, 2015, at Fort Lauderdale Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Fort Lauderdale, FL. This exciting, one-of-a-kind executive leadership summit is designed to train, equip and encourage women to become industry leaders, learn career strategies, and discover proven work—life balance techniques. Register Now! https://blackenterprise.com/wps
Caroline V. Clarke’s book Take a Lesson: Today’s Black Achievers on How They Made It and What they Learned Along the Way, provides insight into the author’s firsthand encounters with business leaders and role models. In the book, Clarke writes about 27 successful African Americans, men and women, who dish career lessons for us to learn from while discussing the obstacles they faced and triumphed over on the road to success.
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead written by Sheryl Sandberg is based on personal career experiences from top women business leaders. Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, asks readers to think
about why some talented women leave their careers to become homemakers while others stay in the corporate world and excel professionally. Advice is given for professional women on how to take their career to the next level offering great insider’s advice for working women of all ages.
#GirlBoss is written by Sophia Amoruso, the CEO and founder of Nasty Gal clothing company. Describing her journey from shoplifter to a multimillionaire entrepreneur, Amoruso’s book is an advice memoir that stresses a do-it-yourself approach to success. Offering personal anecdotes on how she turned her eBay store into a successful online retailer, #GirlBoss is an excellent read for young aspiring entrepreneurs.
Lauren Maillian Bias’s The Path Redefined: Getting to the Top on Your Own Terms helps
women get to the top by tackling challenges in the corporate world with enthusiasm, innovation, and ambition. This book will show women how to achieve high levels of happiness and success in life by finding the characteristics that make them unique.
Lois P. Frankel’s Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make that Sabotage Their Careers discusses why certain women are more successful than others and reports on 101 behaviors that women learn early as children that harm them as adults. In the book, Frankel addresses the unconscious behaviors that women often show and attempts to teach them ways that they can overcome these behaviors in order to experience better success in the workplace.
Successful Women Think Differently: 9 Habits to Make You Happier, Healthier, and More Resilient by Valorie Burton is a book written by a professional certified coach who helps women to think outside the box when it comes to making smart career decisions. Guiding women with tips on the subjects of work, spiritual life, health, and finances, Burton’s book is one that will surely have you feeling inspired, motivated, and empowered.
Carla A. Harris’s Expect to Win: 10 Proven Strategies for Thriving in the Workplace, is an overview of how women can thrive in corporate America. Harris, a highly respected and powerful businesswoman, shares advice and tips to help professionals climb the ladder of success.
Get Yours!: How to Have Everything You Ever Dreamed of and More, written by Amy
DuBois Barnett, gives women tools to discover their passions and to live a meaningful life. Inspired by Barnett’s journey from unhappiness to fulfillment, the award-winning journalist discusses her road to success, while mentioning celebrity role models like Gabrielle Union and Venus Williams as inspiration.
Written by Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood, Rhonda Joy McLean and Angela Burt-Murray, The Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black Women, is a mentoring book in which four black female executives provide strategies to help women play the power game, regardless of their career level. Focusing on the building blocks of leadership, communication, and confidence, this book is an excellent choice in helping women become better leaders in the workplace.
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS! Join us for the landmark 10th Annual Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit hosted by State Farm, March 2—4, 2015, at Fort Lauderdale Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Fort Lauderdale, FL. This exciting, one-of-a-kind executive leadership summit is designed to train, equip and encourage women to become industry leaders, learn career strategies, and discover proven work—life balance techniques. Register Now! https://blackenterprise.com/wps