Real Women, Real Leaders: Surviving and Succeeding in the Business World

FOREWORD

I've generally steered away from books telling people how to do things that are mostly common sense, and books on “leadership” are no exception. Although just about every parent wants his or her children to be leaders, a parent could teach them to be Olympic athletes more easily.

There is no recipe for leadership, no book that tells you what you need to do to teach it or to be one, no school or apprenticeship that will give you the credential.

I've also avoided saying that women would be better leaders than men, because that generalization is unprovable. Women are as varied as men, their talents and behavior determined by their genes, their upbringing, their education, their environment, their hard work. But what I can say is that men have had a lot more opportunities to lead than women, especially in business and in government. So there is some work to be done.

I was lucky enough to get the chance to lead at two wonderful organizations: The Economist magazine and Pearson, plc. for a total of twenty-two years. I found in that time that the very best way to learn to lead is to meet leaders or read stories of their exploits. That is precisely what the authors of Real Women, Real Leaders have set out to offer us, and I hope you'll think they've succeeded.

If you know real stories—first-hand or second-hand—I predict that they'll leave you with what you really need: a few important personal mantras and a framework for how to make your decisions.

The simple mantras I carried ...