kathryn flynn

Research shows that women hold just 11% of executive officer positions today - a number that has not changed substantially for 30 years. But with women making up half the workforce, they offer a vast, largely untapped source of talent for companies willing to buck the trend. While gender bias is certainly a factor, there is another key factor: how women think and the assumptions they make that are within their own control, and that can be changed. 

This book distills the six faulty assumptions - or "rules" -  many women follow that get in the way of their path to leadership and power, and the correlating new rules that will clear that path:

1. Old: Focus on Others vs. New: Take the Lead and Take the Credit
2. Old: Play it Safe vs. New: Trust Yourself to Take Risks
3. Old: Seek Approval vs. New: Proceed Until Apprehended
4. Old: Be Modest vs. New: Project Power
5. Old: Work Harder than Men vs. New:  Be Politically Savvy
6. Old: It's All or Nothing vs. New: Sustain Your Success

Break Your Own Rules is based on over 1,000 interviews conducted over the last five years with women in Fortune 1000 firms, as well as each authors' direct client work. It also includes many stories from high profile women including Ann Moore (CEO, Time Inc.), Susan Ivey (CEO, Reynolds American), Sharon Allen (Chairman, Deloitte), Carol Bartz (CEO, Yahoo) and others, and reveals how any woman can improve her odds of success at the highest levels.