TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: LEAN IN

So if you're been living under a rock, this chick here is Sheryl Sandberg.  She's the COO of Facebook, a bona fide badass, and she just wrote a book about women and leadership that's making all the headlines. It was based off of a TedTalk she did back in 2010 called "Why we have too few women leaders". I read it over Spring Break and loved it - she offers a lot of insight into women's leadership, particularly how women hold themselves back, and what we can do to change that.  As a women and as someone entering the workforce very soon, I enjoyed hearing her stories and advice, and will definitely take some of her points to heart in my future career.  Check out the video below to learn a little more about Sheryl's story.

She also just did a open question and answer session with young professional women on the Levo League (which, if you haven't checked that out yet, you should - it's a great resource for Gen Y women).  I highly recommend you click through to it here to hear some more wisdom as she answers tough questions from young professional women.  Basically, Sheryl takes cares of business in a big way, and any woman, whether they want to be a CEO or not, should either watch the TedTalk or read the book so they can learn how to LEAN IN in whatever they do.

*Just a disclaimer: Not everyone is as big of a fan of the book as I am. (You can do a quick Google search if you'd like to read some very well-written critiques, including this one.)  Many have pointed out that her book focuses mainly on the corporate world, and doesn't really apply to anyone who's not white, married, and privileged. Obviously, it's hard to write the perfect book, especially about this, but I think she does get a lot of things right. I suggest you read the book for yourself and form your own opinions!

image via vogue and video via leanin.org

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: TORY BURCH

 The latest installment in the TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS series is this interview by Business of Fashion with the queen of cool herself, Tory Burch.  It's a cool look at how Tory got started, the decisions she made to start her line, and what she's involved in the day-to-day process of running Tory Burch.  Good advice for anyone starting out in business - especially those actually starting their own!   Check out some of her main points below, and be sure to click through to read the whole article here!

PLUS if you want more TB, check out her blog!

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: READ TO LEAD

 Disclaimer: I do not go to Harvard.  I do, however, occasionally peruse the Harvard Business Review. (Disclaimer #2: This is a lie. Someone linked to this specific article and I read it.  I think it's the first article in the HBR I've ever read.)  Anyway, I found this article - "For Those Who Want to Lead, Read" - a great reminder of how important it is to read. I know it's so hard to find time; I'm right there with you.  It took me a semester and a half to finish reading Freakonomics last year, which I should have been able to breeze through in a weekend if...well, if I had a free weekend.  But this summer I've spent a lot of time at the library, getting books to read by the pool and at the beach and at night when there's nothing good on TV, and I've been reminded of how much I enjoy reading.  And, if this article is anything to go off of, it's making me a better leader.  So next time my Mom tells me to get out of my room and go do something when I'm in the middle of an important chapter, I'm just going to inform her of a couple of the facts below.  Check out the rest of the article here, and go check out a book from the library while you're at it.  You can send me a thank you from your corner office later.

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