Pitch Like a Girl : How a Woman Can Be Herself and Still Succeed

Rating:
Summary: Great insights for professional and personal success
Review: I picked up a copy of this book after reading a glowing review in USA Today, and am really grateful I read the paper that day. Pitch Like a Woman is filled with smart, funny, practical insights into the best ways to reach your professional goals--and your personal ones as well. Author Ronna Lichtenberg's discussion of the different ways that men's and women's brains are wired and the pragmatic implications of those findings for how we conduct ourselves in the workplace is fascinating, not to mention incredibly useful. So are her specific tips for understanding your true goals, framing a pitch so that the recipient really hears and is receptive to your message and going after what you want in a way that is effective without being off-putting to others or somehow untrue to who you really are. I'd highly recommend this book--for working women, certainly, but there are plenty of wonderful insights here for men as well.

Rating:
Summary: A book for both genders.
Review: Pitch Like A Girl is a book for both genders. Although this book is addressed to women, if you are a man, you'll find most of it applies to you, too. Because, as Lichtenberg amply illustrates, there may be fixed tendencies arising from "hard-wiring" in the different male and female brains and hormonal systems, but tendencies are subject to manipulation by socialization, by learning and by choice. So, we all end up with both blue (traditionally male) and pink (traditionally female) characteristics.

Ronna Lichtenberg provides her readers with three exceptional tools to improve communication and transactions across the styles that divide us:

1) She simplifies relevant scientific literature on the roles played by physical, psychological and sociological gender differences and makes it easy to understand and interesting to read.

2) She provides handy set of color-coded categories for how those differences work. That set is very useful for accurately interpreting other people's words, behaviors, expectations and intentions.

3) She gives exact, specific instructions on how to use your new understanding to get ahead in business -- and get what you want elsewhere.

In Pitch Like A Girl, you will learn to how to recognize and value both blue and pink characteristics (and your own particular blend) and use your tendencies for your highest benefit. You'll appreciate that the so-called "gender gap" in communicating is really a "pink" and "blue" gap that occurs within genders as well. So you'll be better able to talk to, negotiate with and make presentations to anyone by identifying his or her overall tendencies. In that, this excellent book adds substantially to the literature on male-style and female-style communication (such as Deborah Tannen's books You Just Don't Understand and That's Not What I Meant).

Of course, the book is about more than communications. The author's expression of the need for assertiveness and self-promotion in what she calls the "Me, Inc." approach is of interest to both "pinks" and "blues". As the saying goes, if I had a nickel for every time I explained the concept to both male and female clients, well...I'd have a whole lot of nickels. Let me just say, if you only get this one concept out of this and apply it, you'll be much more effective as an employee, an entrepreneur, a boss or whatever else you are. It is golden.

For women in particular, though, Lichtenberg addresses in depth issues all women face, pink, blue or evenly-striped. Issues that men are unlikely to face for many physical and cultural reasons. Best of all, she doesn't just help you understand them, she has ideas for exactly what to do about them. Men can just skip on to the generically useful parts.

Rating:
Summary: One "Aha" After Another
Review: The illusion that women in business should be like men has been deepening so gradually, for so long, it's been hard to see it happening. But it has. Thankfully, this book uses science, strategy, and common sense to dissolve one myth after another. It's fun to read, too, because it's written in a witty and personal way, as if your smartest and best friend were letting you in on her time-tested secrets. This is my favorite kind of HowTo book, the kind that also pays attention to WhyTo. Best of all is the relief of being reassured that the way you are is the best way to be, so long as you become fluent in the nuances.

Rating:
Summary: Pitch like a person -- that's the real message!
Review: This book is filled with valuable information for business owners, professionals and corporate citizens. Essentially much of life is about pitching -- presenting ideas and products that we want others to buy. The title cleverly picks up the double meaning of "pitch" and "pitch like a girl."

But that's both a strength and a weakness of the book. Many readers, especially blues, will find the pink vs. blue a little too cutesy. Many management books identify "styles" of acting, thinking and deciding. Lichtenberg chooses to identify styles that get associated with men (blue) and women (pink). But, as she points out, some women are blue and some men tend to the pink.. Some have "stripes," as when a predominantly pink male creates a blue cover-up.

On the plus side, decoding your target's predominant style will be valuable, regardless of the label. And Lichtenberg rightly points out that "blue" women often can be perceived as threatening. If someone is really clueless, they'll need a lot more than one book, but you can get off to a good start here. Simply being aware of style will add spin to your pitch.

Other strengths of this book include general tips on pitching. For instance, I really enjoyed Lichtenberg's story of her friend who screened advertising agency pitches for a fast food account. Those who appealed on the basis of "I'm hungry" were likely to be tossed with the "So what" question. Those receiving a pitch want to hear, "What's in it for me?"

Definitely worth reading. And while I understand the author's decision to pitch this book toward a female audience, both men and women can benefit from much of the content.