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"The worst thing I could have imagined happened. I lost my job in the most public way possible, and the press had a field day with it all over the ...
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Nov 06, 2007
Lorna
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Wow. This woman is extraordinary. Her careers moves at lightning speed from a role as a secretary at a brokerage firm to CEO of HP. She also was one of the three people who spun off Lucent from AT&T, creating the logo, company identity and mission statement. She exhibits spectacular moral courage, ethical conviction, daring creativity and infectious charisma. Never would I have imagined adding to my list of personal heroes the CEO of a major corporation, but there you have it; she's been added.
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Dec 29, 2008
Antof9
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The first half of this book is totally inspiring. It's a great book on leadership, and one that anyone in business should read. It actually made me want to do my job better.
However, the second half of this book felt like "Carly's Defense". It seemed like she really felt the need to tell her side, and this book is the vehicle for it. It wasn't bad, per se, but it didn't go with the first half, and in some ways, it took away from the first half. It seemed awfully defensi More...
However, the second half of this book felt like "Carly's Defense". It seemed like she really felt the need to tell her side, and this book is the vehicle for it. It wasn't bad, per se, but it didn't go with the first half, and in some ways, it took away from the first half. It seemed awfully defensi More...
May 30, 2008
Laura
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I know nothing about HP or management, but I really liked this book. Fiorini was the CEO of HP, and this is her autobiography, focused on her climb through the business world (from AT&T to Lucent to HP). There is a lot on management techniques and her personal philosophies on management and business, and this is interesting to read. I enjoyed the stories of how she overcame particular obstacles at work. What I really liked about it, though, was her frank depiction of the challenges for women
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Feb 17, 2008
Lori
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 29, 2010
Riley
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 13, 2009
Nancy
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This is an autobiography of the former CEO of HP. It chronicles her rise and fall from power. I could relate to a lot of it, of course with quite a few less zeroes in my case! ( I read elsewhere that Carly received $21 million in her HP severance agreement – 2.5 X her annual salary.) I agreed with much of Carly’s philosophy of business. The following quotes resonated with me, primarily in the context of my own situation.
“They (the Board) did not thank me and they did not say good-bye. More...
“They (the Board) did not thank me and they did not say good-bye. More...
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Feb 15, 2009
Julie at All Ears
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I have a confession to make. I am yet another Hewlett-Packard refugee. I was at HP when Carly Fiorina was CEO. Working on a design team that was almost all male, it was exhilerating to have a female CEO. But, like so many other HP employees, I felt that Carly was calculating and immune to the charm of "Bill and Dave" and the HP Way. I agreed with the sentiments of most of my co-workers that Carly Fiorina was a ...(rhymes with witch). Although I was no longer at HP when Carly was ousted
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Nov 29, 2011
Mary
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Thanks, Laura, for sharing this book! It is a great picture of a woman driven to the heights of corporate responsibility, with memorable assessments of what leadership consists of. I especially liked how she never once whined about the unique challenges of being a woman in this role, but she never sugar coats it either. I'll reread this book.
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Jul 04, 2009
Jo
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This was really quite interesting, even though I know little about business and had no idea that she had ever led Hewlett Packard.It chronicles her rise (from a secretary to CEO of HP) and fall (the HP Board fired her) in business. She talks of how she learned management, and the obstacles she faced as a woman in a tech industry in her time and how she overcame them through focus on the work. There is a lot on management techniques and her personal philosophies on management and business, and th
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Nov 06, 2010
Marylou
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This book was so interesting in the beginning before she got hired by HP. From there on, she spent the rest of the book reporting such details, it became boring ... you could page through it and get the idea of what was happening. Not much about her personal life once she got to HP either ... I guess you have to be egocentric to get to where she got, but I don't think I would have liked to have been her secretary. But she sure keep good notes herself! She probably didn't need a secretary! P
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Jun 24, 2010
Jon
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I really enjoyed this book. One of the best leadership and business books I have read and will likely re-read or at the very least borrow wisdom from. Carly's astuteness for business is unmatched. This was a rather quick read that focused on her career and her thoughts on leadership. I read this book to gain some insight into Carly to see if my vote would be her this coming election. She certainly now has it, but what I did not expect in this book and I actually appreciated the book did not
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Mar 04, 2009
Michelle
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Very inspiring. I would want to write a very long review, but if I wait to find the perfect words, it will never happen. So, the bottom line is that I feel rejuvenated. It have set myself my 5 and 10 year goals because of this book. I had never seriously considered management until now, and I owe it all to this book. I feel less intimidated by my own management because the book humanizes upper management.
My only issue is how she focuses on metrics as measurement of success (ie # of p More...
My only issue is how she focuses on metrics as measurement of success (ie # of p More...
Oct 08, 2011
Eva
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Carly details her work experiences well, from her first job out of university to her CEO role at HP. She discusses various aspects of business, techniques she used to manage, and the complexities involved in mergers. What I liked most about her book is that she is very forthcoming about people issues, politics and conflicts in the workplace. It set the scene for what one might expect to experience in the workplace, without being pessimistic, rather matter of fact.
Jan 20, 2008
Vanessa
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Having worked with HP through the merger, this was extremely interesting to me. It was interesting to see the polital and gender struggles she had in the beginning of her career and how she handled them. Her writing was very down to earth and she definitely comes across as a human being, not a cold, hard, bitch that some made her out to be during her HP reign. She admits and talks about risks she took that didn't work, but also gives herself due credit on the risks she took that did work. I had
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Jul 14, 2010
Calynn
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This woman is an incredible business woman, this book outlines her life and all her accomplishments and set backs. I learned a lot from reading this book, as a business student and a woman in the field I felt it was a great representation of the business world today. The focus is a lot on being a woman in a man's world and how to step up and not tolerate anything less than what you deserve.
Dec 20, 2009
L
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Ms. Fiorina is a true pioneer. Her experiences have helped to open the door for women in the business world: she is a true role model for all women who want to break the glass ceiling. I have a newfound respect for Ms. Fiorina, and do not believe any of the negative hype that surrounded her in the media. Those were a bunch of lies. Ms. Fiorina is a class act all of the way.
Great read.
Great read.
Nov 21, 2011
Mkhoo
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I read this some years ago and it's one of my favourite biographies - written in a direct, personal style (without a ghostwriter), Fiorina recounts the series of choices she had to make from her time in college to being in the corporate world. She doesn't gloss over difficult moments, but recounts her travails and tribulations in a male-dominated world.
Nov 19, 2010
Lois
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I'm listening to the audiobook and really enjoying it. Based on how she's been presented in the media, I didn't like her but her autobiography changed my mind. I liked hearing her story in her own words and I'm more open-minded now about the kind of business professional that she may be.
Sep 24, 2009
Barb
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Got this book at a christian leadership seminar that she was featured at. Not a lot of christian content which I expected. I was encouraged by her unwavering moral values.
Dec 12, 2010
Gena
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Book for school...had a few amusing stories of being a woman in the business world. Would I have picked it up if it wasn't a school book...no.
Sep 05, 2010
didn't like this book, or the story or carly. I read this book for college and wrote a paper on it. She is egotistic with the pretense of being humble.
Sep 30, 2009
Joette
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I learned what it's like to be a leader in the business world. I found it interesting that she had to learn so many new things every time she took a new job.
Apr 29, 2011
Janet
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Listened to the audio book that was read by the author and really enjoyed it. It was like listening to "lessons learned" from a mentor.
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May 07, 2009
Dana
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Interesting to hear her point of view on how it went down at HP. Have to take some of her comments with a grain of salt though.
Apr 29, 2010
Kristin
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I'm only three-quarters of the way through this book. But so far it has proved to be extremely interesting. Outside of this book, I don't know my feelings on Carly Fiorina, they are probably more negative. But while reading, she is great. It's a perfect book for a professional woman. It's inspiring and uplifting. It tackles gender issues in the workplace as well as addresses rising the ranks in an organization, something interesting to a lot of 20 -somethings that are working. I particularly lik
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Jul 17, 2010
This lady is pretty darn smart! Think she will make a good senator for California
Aug 11, 2009
I enjoyed her thoughts and perspectives as a woman in the corporate world
Sep 17, 2008
Narasimhan
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An interesting autobiography.You would get to know about a strong personality.Carly speaks a lot about corporate warfare,politics,mergers,splits,acquistions,re-org and many more.Her comments about HP's style of working was interesting to read.On personal note,i was able to connect her HP's comments to one of my previous employment work culture.Good thing about the book is that no-where Carly goes behind a self-pity attitude to depict the corporate fights,politics as against rising women-power.In
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Mar 21, 2011
Sofia
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Still perplexed re: the title. Not sure about the tough choices to which Ms. Fiorina refers. Sure, she made some choices, but none of them seemed too much tougher than usual. To me the most interesting parts of her memoir showcased her business thinking and strategy -- much of which could be used to improve any business and/or non-profit. There's some good stuff here. Overall, I found this to be an easy listen (I have the audiobook), but my significant other said the audiobook sounds like a text
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