Playing Big

October 15, 2014

As women hoping to improve our lots in today's business world, first we were asked to "Lean In"--now we are being nudged to "Play Big." Mohr, a Stanford MBA and personal coach, provides a series of tips, suggestions, and practices to get women to step outside of their comfort zone and step up to the plate in order to realize their true capabilities and ambitions. Visualization, breathing exercises, self-actualization, journaling, and shameless self-promotion are all recommended. The author draws upon clients' stories to illustrate ways in which too many women continue to sell themselves short or be contented in the background when they could have a much more powerful influence in the worlds they inhabit just by speaking up. Of course, it is never that easy and Mohr addresses this, offering practical ways to circumvent challenges both from within and without. VERDICT Recommended for women who have good ideas but are unsure of themselves or how to implement their innovative concepts. A useful book for public libraries and those with strong feminist or career collections.--Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2014
Rarely do first-time authors live up to book blurbs, but coach Mohr does. Simply, she moves Sheryl Sandberg's much-hyped Lean In (2013) beyond the conceptual stage and infuses it with pragmatic steps any woman (and perhaps some self-doubting Thomases) can take. Her insights are so startling and real thatin addition to the multiple anecdotes from her workshop and coaching clientsreaders will nod and gasp, smile, and get a bit teary. Here's just one. How many professionals have been derailed by their inner critics? Solutions are many, from label and notice to turn down the volume. In good coach fashion, she includes reinforcing exercises at the end of each chapter, for example, journaling questions to ponder and the summary called The Big Ideas. The 10 chapters help move readers past conflict avoidance, self-censoring, people pleasing, and tentative speech and actionsif only they listen and practice her good advice.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)