Just finished What Men Don't Tell Women About Business – Opening Up The Heavily Guarded Alpha Male Playbook by Christopher V. Flett on the weekend. I got this book for Christmas and was thinking to save it for my summer off (as a reward for getting through this never ending contract).
Then I made a beta male cry (the guy made me look like a jack a$$ and I, in a moment of weakness, squashed him). Forget waiting for summer. I needed to feel better immediately (I'm trying to reduce my chocolate intake).
This is the only book I've read where the author actually understands alphas (it is about the alpha male but the goal focused thinking is the same for the alpha female). It tells the good, the bad, and the nasty. That bit about not caring about excuses? Sing it, mister. I don't give a beep what the excuses are. And please don't waste my time giving me that laundry list. Just get the job done.
I love how Flett insists that women don't have to act like one of the guys to gain power. I don't golf. I've joined one football pool in my entire career (that was because I was playing with odds, not out of interest in the actual sport, surprisingly I did okay). It hasn't hurt me (it helps that eating is universal where I do my best bonding).
He talks about not mixing business with pleasure. Too true. Co-workers are not friends. In a downsizing or even a promotion situation, it is every man or woman for him/herself. Like Flett, I don't have work people over to my house for entertaining. I learned that lesson early on in my career. Work is work. Personal is personal. Mixing the two opens yourself up to gossip and criticism.
If you are an alpha (and I suspect that many of my readers are), this book will reassure you that you're not alone in your thinking. If you know (and perhaps love) an alpha, this book will help you understand them better.