Playing to Win: 10 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

by Karren Brady

Playing to Win is a handbook for women who want to be successful. Karren Brady did it. At 23 she took over as Managing Director of Birmingham City Football Club, becoming the youngest ever female Managing Director of a UK PLC when it floated in 1997. Although the club was the "football equivalent of a rubbish dump" and women were barely even seen on the terraces in the early 90s, Karren Brady persuaded her backers to acquire the club and single-mindedly revolutionised it, clearing the debt, taking Birmingham City into the Premier League and transforming it into a viable business. How did she do it? How did a 23-year-old woman with little previous experience at this level of management walk into a man?s world and achieve such success? In Playing to Win , she reveals her secrets and shares with other women the techniques they can adopt to succeed in their own lives, on their own terms. Her ten motivational rules are self-help ambition, determination, courage, charm, hard work, attitude, humour, confidence, focus and communication. Playing to Win shows women how to grow in each of these areas and achieve the success they dream of. And like all great self-help, her principles apply across all areas of experience - work and personal life. Playing to Win is a handbook for success in any situation. Moving from Karren?s story, how she has transformed a business and maintained a full and stable personal life, to a chapter-by-chapter study of the ten principles successful women need to adopt, Playing to Win is essential reading for women who want to have it all.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2004

Reviews

[Fitra Rahmamuliani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Playing to win is a good book for people who wants to know and read about the other's experience on how to be a successful person. At the end of each chapter, you can see the key lessons that were summarized by the writer. But I don't think it's my type of book because of too many quotes inside and it's about the experience. I wish it has more explanation for that.

[Tanner Powell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I initially picked this up thinking it was a different book. I am a man and was obviously not the target audience, as it was about how to succeed as a woman in business. I figured I would listen through and try to gain some understanding of a woman’s experience in business, though, so I could help appropriately as a businessman. I’m happy if it helps someone, but I personally felt that a good chunk of the advice was outdated. My wife is successful in business and she does very well by being herself, while this felt a lot like how to put on the right mask at work. I could be way off-base (I am once again aware that I am not the target audience), but it just didn’t ring true for me.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part autobiography about Karen Brady, part interviews of successful business women, this is an interesting read sharing hints and tips. Karen Brady's story is strong, and if I'm honest I would probably have preferred to read about her than the piece meal highlights from other business women to illustrate the 10 steps. It is an easy read, and I made notes against quite a few sections but few if any were specifically female points.