Selena Rezvani

This book starts out strong with a beautiful dose of humor in the dedication section. The upbeat attitude continues throughout. It adds a light hearted tone you don’t often get in a self help book. The advice is amazing for anyone in business, or even for your after work hours. You can just tell this was a well researched work, just looking at all the referenced material in the paragraphs and endnotes just shows what she put into this. She also uses examples from her own life and career to show more hit her advice home. I felt this really made what she had to say more relatable. Which is actually something she mentioned. I like that with the advice she often points out how people are different and encourages us to find our own way to do what is advised.
While I did like the upbeat tone I did find the energy to be a little too much at times. I felt there was a little too much use of the words “yikes” and “ouch”, and exclamation points. I feel some scaling back could help create a more balanced and enjoyable reading experience.
All in all I think this book is a great source for anyone needing more confidence in their job, or life in general. Rezvani you can tell is an expert in her field, she delivers amazing advice, and encouragement to make sure you can excel wherever you need that confidence boost. So if you are in the market for confidence enhancement I recommend this book. show less

I read this book for my company's Women in Leadership book club. Pushback is an excellent little book on how to ask for what you want in a professional setting. The first few chapters outline several reasons why women struggle to ask for what they want or deserve, and the remaining chapters focus on negotiating techniques and examples from female professionals with plenty of quotes and anecdotes thrown in. I especially appreciated how Rezvani highlighted that you need to advocate for show more yourself rather than waiting around for your boss to notice you or hoping that your hard work speaks for itself. Highly recommended to professional women. show less

I purchased my first business at age 22 (1969) and I can certainly attest that what I needed to know I didn't learn in business school. It took me years to "figure" things out and 40+ years later I'm still learning. I do recall the struggles and chaos that came with owing that first business and it certainly would have been much easier if I had acquired some prior knowledge through academia. But, then I wonder if I would have learned the "nuts and bolts" of running a business from a show more professor that has never owned or managed a business. Many professors have never walked the talk.

Although I didn't notice any social barriers because I was female, I was astonished to read the studies that women face. As well it was interesting to read about economic parity, especially around pay equity. Fortunately, due to many laws and wider acceptance of women in management positions the upcoming generations will not have to face these obstacles.

"The Next Generation of Women Leaders" is not just about understanding the past, but it also gives information on how to position oneself to lead, as well as how to succeed on and off the job, networking, negotiating, maneuvering through the office politics, and successfully attaining goals. Intended to give better understanding to generation X and Y on how to position oneself in the business society, I found the information in this book very useful for my generation (baby boomer) as well.

I commend Selena Rezvani on bringing to the forefront such important information. Her understanding of being a female in the business community shows through her knowledge and experience. The interviews she conducted with high-positioned female executives present hope to future generations. She also establishes, that yes, as women, we can hold high executive positions and still serve well in roles of wives, partners, friends, and mothers.

I highly recommend this book to any young woman entering a career or has aspirations of becoming a leader. I also believe this book should be a "must read" in all business curriculum, not only for females but males as well. show less