Pushback

Pushback
How Smart Women Ask – and Stand Up – for What They Want

by Selena Rezvani Copyright © 2012 Jossey-Bass, an imprint of John Wiley & Sons 209 pages

Focus
Leadership & Management Strategy Sales & Marketing Finance Human Resources IT, Production & Logistics Small Business Economics & Politics Industries Global Business Career & Self-Development Concepts & Trends

Take-Aways
•Women must advocate for themselves. Nobody else will do it for them. • The ability to negotiate is the most meaningful factor in a woman’s career trajectory. • Many women say they hate to negotiate because they don’t know how. • Learn to negotiate in four steps: “prepare psychologically,” “do your homework,” “maneuver through the conversation” and “follow up.” • Before you start negotiating, considerwhat you need and what concessions you are willing to make. • Gather objective information to build your case and to make it harder for someone to deny your request. • Get feedback from your peers and practice negotiating before the real deal. • Be bold and passionate. Present your request as a solution for you and the other party. • Follow up after your negotiation with a written summary ofagreed-upon terms. • Don’t take rejection personally. Try again when the timing is better.

Rating (10 is best)
Overall Applicability Innovation Style

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This summary is restricted to the personal use of David Gamboa (davidramon.gamboa@axa.com.mx)

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Relevance
What You Will Learn In this summary, you will learn:r1) Why women hesitate to negotiate or “push back,” 2) How women can overcome fear ofnegotiation and 3) How to negotiate successfully in four steps. Recommendation The Bible says to ask and you will receive, yet many women are reticent about asking. Women now earn more advanced degrees than men, outnumber men in the workforce and control more than half the world’s wealth. But when it comes to workplace negotiations, instead of “pushing back,” many women accept less than ideal workingconditions. Women’s leadership policy consultant Selena Rezvani offers a four-step formula that women can follow to improve their negotiation skills. While Rezvani’s practical advice is just as useful for men as it is for women, her analysis of many women’s attitudes toward negotiation is superbly accurate, and a lot of female readers will identify with her hypothesis. getAbstract recommends Rezvani’sself-advocacy skills, which women at all career levels can use to boost their negotiating confidence.

Summary
      “Your career and your life are all about choices. Not asking is a choice; asking and acquiescing to something you hate is a choice; and surely, asking and getting what you want represents a choice.”

What It Means to “Push Back” Although they may constantly negotiate in theirpersonal lives, many businesswomen don’t know how to ask for what they want in the workplace, for example, a higher salary, a more flexible schedule, better assignments, and the like. Women need to learn and know how to push back – that is, “to articulate, advocate for and hold out for” what they desire and deserve.
Twenty female executives who responded to a survey estimated that 60% of their...