Book Review: Success On Our Own Terms: Tales of Extraordinary, Ordinary Business Women

Book Review: Success On Our Own Terms: Tales of Extraordinary, Ordinary Business Women by Virginia O'Brien (John Wiley & Sons, 1998)
by Marilyn Edelson

Success on Her Own Terms by Virginia O'Brien tells inspiring stories of nearly three dozen successful women in a wide variety of industries and positions. Every tale is one of overcoming adversity in difficult situations and all the stories offer valuable lessons to any woman or man seeking to make it in corporate America.

Ginny O'Brien illustrates how women have achieved success and how they had defined success. She demonstrates that numbers, such as that at Bell Atlantic, where only 10% of the top officers are women, don't tell the real story: that women have already, in the last 30 years, completely mastered how to succeed in business and have truly broken the "glass ceiling." Women are now seen on every level and in every function of nearly all businesses in the U.S., large and small. Perhaps more telling is the public's new acceptance of the concept of a woman CEO—although we find it unusual, we are not surprised any longer by women having successfully climbed the corporate ladder.

O'Brien emphasizes that her heroines are not extraordinary women—that, in many cases, they started with no education beyond high school, no contacts, no network and, above all, no experience. Many were middle class young women with no expectations of even having a career, much less a successful one. Many of her heroines were groomed solely to get married and/or function as a good corporate wife. All went far beyond what they expected of themselves.

Two common traits are evident among all the women here: first, all are ambitious now, though they might not have started out that way; second, all are energetic go- getters who don't let anything get in their way. We don't hear about overwhelming fatigue, frustration or failure. For some of my clients, aspects of "Success..." may seem elusive. Not all are as high energy as the women described or work in particularly supportive environments.

O'Brien states at the beginning, however, that she chose to focus on corporations identified as "progressive regarding women's issues...to acknowledge programs and initiatives in support of women." It is in such settings that women can be nurtured, can grow and succeed. Also, she wanted to illustrate how, within such organizations, networks of women can be formed and mentors found.

O'Brien points out frequently in the book how women define success differently than men do. Although money is important, nearly all the women she interviewed (45 in one study, 100 in another) defined success as enjoying their lives, saying that success is "achieving what I want on my own terms." Three main components of success for women included achieving goals, balancing work and family, and contributing something of value.

For women and men seeking positions in corporate America, or already working there, "Success on Our Own Terms" offers valuable lessons and the perspective of many voices and experiences. For women particularly this book points out that corporate America is in the process of making accommodations to enable women to succeed. Older women, some of whom are profiled, have paved the way and opportunities for younger women, and men, are now much more open.