Rethink

Smashing the Myths of Women in Business

Narrated by Nan McNamara
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Pub Date Feb 09 2021 | Archive Date Feb 28 2021
Greenleaf Audiobooks | Greenleaf Book Group Press

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Description

Beyond the Glass Ceiling

​More and more, women today are challenging long-held beliefs about what they can and can’t do. They’re speaking up, stepping out, breaking through, and redefining what society has always told them was true about their capabilities. In Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business, Andi Simon tells the stories of 11 women from different industries who opened up the possibilities for their professional careers and personal lives by being authentic, taking risks, and pushing past the obstacles others placed before them. These are stories that tell of innovation, show how women rise, and ignite change.

Andi, a corporate anthropologist, an award-winning author, and a successful entrepreneur, debunks myth after myth as she profiles the women in the book and offers key wisdom, insights, and observations through her unique lens. Whether about entrepreneurs, innovators, scientists, academics, attorneys, or leaders in other fields, the stories demonstrate how all the women have broken down walls and paved the way to more. 

But this book isn’t only about the 11 women who are pushing boundaries and transforming business, culture, and society; it’s about inspiring all women to achieve and showing them a way to launch forward. Rethink provides the tools and framework for questioning society's norms, challenging our own current thinking, and smashing the preconceived notions about women that can so often hold us back from realizing our goals and dreams. In this book, you'll learn how to take a hands-on approach to examining and rethinking your own personal and professional life in order to recognize your fuller potential.
Beyond the Glass Ceiling

​More and more, women today are challenging long-held beliefs about what they can and can’t do. They’re speaking up, stepping out, breaking through, and redefining what...

Advance Praise

''Rethink is a great book that smashes the myths that too often hold women back. Andi Simon not only skillfully shares the stories of women who have successfully created their own 'blue ocean,' but inspires and guides you to do the same in your life too. This book is a gift that helps women see, feel, and think about their own lives through a fresh lens. Get ready to be inspired!''

Renée Mauborgne, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Ocean Shift and Blue Ocean Strategy, Professor of INSEAD

''We can do anything we put our minds to, and the stories featured in Andi Simon's Rethink are proof of this. I recommend this book to any woman looking for role models or inspiration for success. Keep planning, learning, and working towards your goals. Continue being unapologetically ambitious.''

Shellye Archambeau, board director, advisor, and author of Unapologetically Ambitious

''Rethink is a testament to what women CAN do! This book is a no-nonsense, myth-debunking gem that uses the power of real stories and facts to demonstrate women's true power and potential across multiple industries and roles. Andi's authenticity shines through as she also shares her own journey as a 'myth-smasher' and shows us that success isn't linear and that we don't have to fit in a box. This is a must-read for women looking for a dose of inspiration in their own trailblazing journey.''

Jessie Medina, CEO of FEMX Quarters, social entrepreneur, intersectionality consultant, speaker

''Andi Simon's Rethink provides powerful examples of how women in the workplace lead to organizational success and creative advancements. These strong leaders who happen to be women took their lives into their own hands and are changing our world as we know it. Sharing stories like these is critical in showcasing models for success, and I hope this book engenders more to come.''

Cheryl Contee, CEO of Do Big Things, author of Mechanical Bull: How You Can Achieve Startup Success

''With surgical precision, Rethink disembowels pernicious myths that propped up the glass ceiling. Rethink is not just stories of visionary female leaders, and it is more than a systematic study of their leadership styles or a deconstruction of their successes. Rethink is a powerful narrative for a new culture.''

Max Teplitski, PhD, Chief Science Officer, Produce Marketing Association

''Dr. Andi Simon's groundbreaking book Rethink is a MUST-read! By presenting eleven incredible women's inspiring stories, the author smashes the myths of women in business. Every leader, regardless of industry, needs to read this book! If you're a woman seeking a path in the business world, this is THE book to read, absorb, and then put into practice. Insightfully written, boundary breaking, a sure bestseller!"

Elia Gourgouris PhD, Founder of The Happiness Center

''Rethink by Dr. Andi Simon is proof positive that when women are strong, bold, and gutsy, they succeed. Each story serves as a great reminder to keep pushing for equality and prosperity in whatever we choose to do. I recommend this for any professional woman looking to break the glass ceiling in their field.''

Pat Obuchowski, MBA, PCC, CEO of inVisionaria, bestselling and award-winning author

''Andi Simon has done a magnificent job with Rethink and yes, 'smashing the myths of women in business.' Rethink turns myths into reality with marvelous storytelling of women boldly leading the way forward in different industries with the support of other women. Andi points out that we are still a long way from parity and pay parity, and at the Women Business Collaborative (WBC), we know that Power and Parity go together. We know that women and women of color can change the face of the economy and support one another in a new sisterhood. Women lead differently with new leadership from the head, heart, and soul.''

Edie Fraser, CEO of Women Business Collaborative (WBC)

''Regardless of where you are in your life's journey, Andi's latest masterpiece gives you the inspiration to 'Rethink' how far you can go. She shares the myth-busting real life stories of successful women who, despite the odds against them, have reached the pinnacle of personal and professional success. Their individual journeys did not always take the path expected, but each one shows how they were able to overcome challenges and conquer obstacles life threw their way. The stories capture your attention and leave you inspired to reach for the stars in your own life. If that isn't enough, Andi ends the book with a how-to guide, giving the thought-provoking tools we can all use to smash myths, get rid of our head trash, and create new successes in our lives. Thank you, Andi Simon, for the gift of Rethink. I can now 'Rethink' my own destiny.''

Robin Stanaland, Vistage Master Chair

''Andi Simon is a corporate anthropologist observing the individual stories in a society and interpreting how they come together to shape a culture is her expertise. She uses this unique skill set to explain the bigger picture behind the stories of the incredible women she highlights in her latest book, Rethink, and describes how the myths of the past are being shattered by the career trajectories of these trailblazing women. Data-driven analysis is embedded in each riveting chapter about women who are changing the future of business and our entire culture. Rethink is a powerful lens through which we can see what is yet to come.''

Nicole Hittner, Private Equity/M&A Partner, Ballard Spahr LLP

''Rethink by Andi Simon provides an insider view into the myths that plague women's experiences as leaders, regardless of the industry. She masterfully tells these women's stories, both their triumphs and disappointments, illustrating the resiliency and power these women possess. One of the most important contributions of this book is that these women's stories are rooted in their passions, their joys, and their personal goals for fulfillment and contribution. These women are driven, and we are all better as a result. Now, we just need to get out of their way. I look forward to requiring this book in my undergraduate courses that explore issues of leadership, gender, and business.''

Vicki L. Baker, MBA, MS, PhD, Professor of Economics & Management at Albion College, author of Charting Your Path to Full: A Guide for Women Associate Professors

''Ms. Simon presents a hypothesis that women are smashing career myths by presenting 11 inspiring stories of women who have 'made it' in their chosen fields. She draws on her own experience as well as her anthropology education to try to convince the reader that these myths are entrenched and require us to boldly work to overcome them. Part pep talk, part treatise, the book provides an interesting perspective.''

Gwen Anson, Technical Manager, Shell (retired)

''Story is a powerful influence on our species. And so it is that the narratives we tell, and tell ourselves, genuinely come to weave into what we believe is possible. In addressing some of the most profound issues of our time around social inequality, we must consider both the structural constraints put upon us and the cognitive obstacles we place upon ourselves. By bringing attention to individuals who navigated societal barriers through, in part, different ways of thinking about themselves and the worlds they inhabit, Dr. Simon's book brings an essential angle to this critical conversation. Using her anthropologist sensibilities, Andi highlights how a revolutionary smashing of barriers can sometimes come out of pragmatic exploration. By expertly linking together these stories and highlighting their common features, Andi leaves her readers with both motivation and a set of tools to move differently through their world. Dr. Simon's book helped me see the stories I tell myself with fresh eyes. In doing so, she helped me start to dismantle the barriers I construct for the women in my life. Highly recommended!''

Peter Boumgarden, Professor of Practice, Strategy and Organizations, Faculty Director of the Center for Experiential Learning, Washington University in St. Louis, Olin Business School

''In this volume, Andi Simon writes unabashedly and unapologetically for women drawing attention to their resilience, triumphs, obstacles, and brilliance in their professional lives while simultaneously noting the enmeshed cultural myths that too often constrain and limit. The delight in the individual stories is made richer through Simon's analytic observation about stories more generally: Stories are carriers of cultural ideas that all too often preserve the status quo but also offer the possibility to upend it. When we attend to what is being shared and affirmed in stories we tell about ourselves, as anthropologist Simon does, we can contest and alter. The lives of the women recounted in this volume, eloquently told, offer us new ways to tell stories about ourselves.''

Rita Denny, PhD, Executive Director of EPIC

''What a delightful book to read, especially in these times. It's so easy to dwell on what is missing in our society; Rethink, on the other hand, tells an optimistic story of addition. The author takes us on an anthropologist's journey of stories, stories of women who have smashed myths, made a difference, and inspire us to do the same.''

Elisa K Spain, Leadership Coach and Peer Advisory Board Chair

''Who better than a corporate anthropologist to capture the changing societal and cultural norms that have kept women in the shadows and limited their opportunities to be at the head of the table? Story after story, Andi Simon provides clear evidence and examples of pioneering women breaking down barriers and busting myths that have stood for years as relics of a 'normal' that no longer exists. It is time to set the gender biases aside, acknowledge what is in front of us, and Rethink our outdated myths about what women are capable of accomplishing.''

Konstantinos Apostolopoulos, co-author of 7 Keys to Navigating a Crisis: A Practical Guide to Emotionally Dealing with Pandemics & Other Disasters

''Rethink is a great book that smashes the myths that too often hold women back. Andi Simon not only skillfully shares the stories of women who have successfully created their own 'blue ocean,' but...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781626348516
PRICE $21.95 (USD)
DURATION 7 Hours, 38 Minutes, 43 Seconds

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (AUDIO)

Average rating from 32 members


Featured Reviews

This book describes the myths behind what is holding women back in business and provides case studies which smash each and every one of those myths. I found this book inspiring, with a really pleasing balance between narration, scientific evidence and anecdotes. I found it to be accessible whilst still motivating me to take on the world and smash my very own myths.

At one point, I was concerned that the book was looking at very binary gaps between men and women, but wasn’t taking into account the nuances of intersectional feminism. Then at the very moment I thought this Andi Simon smashed that too and delivered me exactly what I was missing.

I really enjoyed this book, both as a pleasant read and something that will stay with me in my everyday life.

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What a great book about women in leadership positions. This book really resonated with me because I work in higher education and the institution I work for has a woman president. She is a scientist and a prominent member of society. All of the things discussed in the higher education myth are true. This president came in and streamlined processes and made our institution what it is today.

In my own career, I face challenges as a working mother and as a learner who gained their bachelor and master's degrees as an adult. The type of profession I am in typically isn't a recognized leader-type position but I am trying to break that barrier in my current position and this is with the help of my work experience and education.

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Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my audiobook copy.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I prefer to listen to any business and self-help books during my commute to work since they are easy to get through. I love that this book focuses on women in business. While it wasn't ground-breaking per-se I think that as a woman any book out there that focuses on us and how we can continue to grow is huge help!

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As someone who has read lots of female entrepreneurship books in the past, I was really looking forward to this one. However, I was disappointed. I liked the intention of the book and that less "iconic" women were featured. However, the storytelling of each woman's story fell short. The stories were a very broad, big picture overview of their careers and it wasn't very compelling.

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Rethink is about women who broke into men dominated careers. Andi Simon is a Ph.D. in Anthropology and uses it in this book to observe how the women used everyday skills to become successful. The skills that stuck with me are recognizing opportunity and not feel so humble to not tell of your accomplishments. I didn't know that the fashion industry was so dominated by men before the 1970s. Maybe because I always see more women than men designer in today's fashion world.
Overall, this book was informative in many ways. Much of it was not new information to me. This would be a great book for people who are just learning about the discrimination against women in the workforce. Also for people looking for encouragement to be a female glass breaker or to support women to do so.

Thank you to NetGalley & Greenleaf Audiobooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The audio version- the reader is perfect. Love the cofidence and very empathetic tones where it was needed. The reason this is getting a 4 stars instead 5 is- before entering the myth chapter by chapfer the introductory portion was a little too lengthy and repetitive in one sense. Great book, loaded with inspo and info but comapre to everything a really weak, non catchy starting.

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Enclosed in this book are inspirational stories of women who smash myths around women in the workplace. The author approaches from an anthropological viewpoint and I think that is a new take on the subject. The narrator has a positive and professional demeanor.

Thanks Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It is set to be published in February 2021.

"Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business" by Andi Simon is an inspiring, very well researched book about the myths that underlie our sexist society.
I admit I'm not usually a big fan of non-fiction literature, but this book is so well written that it reads almost as swiftly as a novel.
The women who are portrayed in these pages come from diverse backgrounds and each and every one of them overcomes all the obstacles that gender-based discrimination has put in her way and ends up succeeding in her field.
Every woman who reads this book will be able to relate to one or more of the protagonists and to the issue they all encounter along the way.
I can definitely recommend reading this to any woman who wants to develop professionally and also to every man who wants to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

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Whenever I search for books about women's issues (feminism, the presence of women in different fields, etc...), I look for something I have not read before. That is why Rethink, by Andi Simon, caught my attention so easily. And I was not wrong in thinking this book was different from other's I had read.
The topic of women trying to succeed in traditionally male spaces is one I am passionate about since I can relate to it. The stories we have in this book are not necessarily ones I can relate to myself, but I can see many readers enjoying reading about all these incredible women whether they relate to them or not. I loved the variety in the examples shown. Often times, we kind of get the same story over and over again. However, in this book, each story had its own personality, same as the women mentioned.
I appreciate how at the end of the book, the author gives us a list of questions to really try to understand why we liked or disliked this book, which part of it spoke to us the most, etc... I think it is a brilliant way to sort of communicate with the reader.
As someone who is often asked about this type of book, I can already think of a group of people I would recommend it to.

Sadly, I had some tech issues with the app and I could not listen to the audiobook. Therefore I cannot rate the narrator's performance.

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The content of the book itself is nice. Women who beat the odds stacked against them, leaves the reader inspired.
I feel that the there was a lot of repetition when bridging the sections together, it made it hard to end the chapter sometimes and I found myself skipping the last minute of the audio book because I felt like I heard the same thing over again.

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Dr Andi Simon is an anthropologist who explores in this book, the relationship and the myths that exist between women and business, no matter the industry. Breaking down 11 different myths from women can't be good leaders, to women can't be geoscientists and highlighting the women who were trailblazing and setting these myths on fire. This book is set to inspire younger generations to not accept the inequality between women and men within business and de-establish these myths that hold women back.

The reason this book hasn't received higher praise from myself is probably due to an inability to relate to it's content. Many of the women in these books established their careers in the 1980s and the early 1990s. As a child of the late 90s, I find it hard to relate to these women who worked in a time of more limited technology, in different vocational careers and had completely different paths to the one I have before me as a recent university graduate. I don't doubt for a second these are important stories to share, but I also feel like this book could have benefitted from having a couple of younger voices throughout it's 11 or so chapters. I will read more from this author in the future but as of now, I didn't love this book.

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Used for NETGALLEY TESTING purposes on AUDIO playback only. EXCELLENT audio. No dragging or problems with live streaming on iPhone device.

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Very inspirational! This really gave me insight on things that I myself do that could be redirecting me from success in other's minds. I really loved the stories of these strong and successful women who took their lives into their own hands and made their own path to success!

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Thanks to NetGalley and Greenleaf Audiobooks / Fast Company Press for the ALC of this audiobook.

I requested this book because it was one of the first that popped up when I needed to test an app, but I ended up really enjoying it. Women are constantly challenged on what they can and can’t do, even in our modern times, and this book examines women who have pushed back and done their own thing to great success.

Corporate anthropologist, Andi methodically debunks many myths with real stories from eleven women who have succeeded in blazing trails and breaking down walls, and through these stories and her research, she inspires women to continue achieving our dreams.

This moved pretty quickly, and I enjoyed learning about the women who didn’t let preconceived notions stop them in their pursuits. I have pretty simple dreams, but there are still obstacles to achieving them, so hearing about women who have done it was inspiring to me, and I now have some concrete steps and plans to achieving what I want. A little encouragement never hurt anyone.

This book is out next month, so keep an eye out for it.

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