Book Review
In Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business, author and entrepreneur, Andi Simon, tells the stories of 11 women from different industry sectors 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 Simon is a corporate anthropologist, an award-winning author, and a successful entrepreneur, and in her book, Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business, she 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.
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.
Author Quotes
In the journey of writing my book Rethink, I began to realize that there were a large number of women whose life just wasn’t where they wanted it to be. They often felt stuck or stalled and were quite frankly unhappy. I set out to develop a way to help them look at their story another way and more importantly make the necessary changes to create a life full of passion and purpose.
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.
People tell stories that tend to follow a hero who has a challenge to conquer and the journey that has taken him or her on their way with mythological dragons to conquer, travails to overcome, and somehow a way to overcome the hurdles and rise again, triumphant. I think you will hear the same heroic stories captured in those shared by the women in this book.
About the author
Andrea J. Simon, PhD (''Andi'') is an international leader in the growing field of corporate anthropology, an award-winning author, and founder and CEO of Simon Associates Management Consultants (SAMC). SAMC was founded two decades ago to apply the theory, methods, and tools of anthropology to help companies, organizations, and communities adapt to changing times. Her book On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights won an Axiom Bronze Best Book award in 2017. On the Brink delves into the application of corporate anthropology to business problems. The seven case studies illustrate how anthropological methods can help companies see themselves in new ways - and reignite their growth strategies. Several of the companies were in need of a Blue Ocean Strategy, an area of Dr. Simon's expertise. Before opening her consulting business in 2002, Dr. Simon held executive management positions in financial services and healthcare organizations, each of which was going through rapid change. She was a consultant at Citibank during the period of deregulation, as well as executive vice president of First National Bank of Highland and senior vice president of Poughkeepsie Savings Bank, all of which had to adapt to a new business landscape. In the healthcare sector, she was the director of branding and marketing for Montefiore Medical Center and vice president for branding, marketing, and physician services for St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center.
Dr. Simon also was a tenured professor of anthropology and American studies at Ramapo College of New Jersey. In 2006, she was a visiting professor teaching entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis. And in 2018, she and her husband and partner, Andrew Simon, launched the Simon Initiative in Entrepreneurship at the Skandalaris Center at Washington University in St. Louis. A trained practitioner in Blue Ocean Strategy, Dr. Simon has conducted over four hundred workshops and keynote speeches between 2007 and 2020. She also has worked with a wide range of clients to help them find their own Blue Ocean Strategies and is widely published on the topic. A highly experienced consultant working on culture change, Dr. Simon uses the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) developed by Dr. Kim Cameron and Dr. Robert E. Quinn. Dr. Simon is part of the consulting team licensed to use the OCAI-online in the Netherlands.
Dr. Simon is also a trained facilitator of Innovation Games®. SAMC uses Innovation Games widely as part of their approach to helping organizations see things with fresh eyes. SAMC's clients span the gamut of industries from manufacturers to service companies to colleges and universities and innovative companies. A contributor to Huffington Post, Fierce Health, and Forbes, Dr. Simon has been on Good Morning America and ABC New York. She has been interviewed in the Washington Post and published in Business Week, American Banker, Daily News, INC Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, John Wiley Global Business, and Organizational Excellence, among others.
Her podcast On the Brink with Andi Simon is ranked among the top 200 in business podcasts and the top 20 futurist podcasts, with over 3.2 million downloads. Her podcast brings together thought leaders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, authors, and business leaders to help people see, feel, and think about themselves and their businesses through a fresh lens.
Why LoA loves it…
Having line of sight to other women entrepreneurs who are successful in business, and having overcome so many challenges along the way, is key. In her book, Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business, Andi Simon shares stories of women who have achieved their goals by overcoming all the odds. If you are looking for inspiration and motivation on your own business journey, then look no further than the women whose voices are shared in Rethink. It will show you what is possible if you ignore the doubters and the long-established myths, and create your own business building journey on your own terms. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa