Book Review & Giveaway: The Power of Many by Meg Whitman

By Mrs. Accountability on March 3rd, 2010

On Monday I learned over at Simply Forties that March is National Women’s History Month. To honor the great women of our history, I’m reviewing a book by a woman who is successful and intelligent and who was has twice been named Most Powerful Woman in Business by Fortune magazine (2004 and 2005).

My book review today is about Meg Whitman, who wrote The Power of Many: Values for Success in Business and in Life. Meg Whitman is the former President and CEO of eBay. My initial interest in this book was sparked since I have been an eBay seller in the past and was curious to learn more of how the business was steered to the multibillion-dollar corporation it is today.

I was really impressed by Meg Whitman, one thing that really got to me is her integrity and courage! It made me think of the positions I’ve held in my life, and how much better the companies would have done if they’d had someone with these important values at their helm. It made me wish I could work for Meg Whitman!

The chapter titles go a long way in describing the contents of the book:

Introduction: The first question (“What is the right thing to do here?”)
Chapter 1: Trust that people are basically good.
Chapter 2: Try something. The price of inaction is high.
Chapter 3: Be authentic. You can’t buy integrity.
Chapter 4: Be frugal. Conserve resources.
Chapter 5: Results matter. Be accountable.
Chapter 6: Listen. Everyone has something to contribute.
Chapter 7: Focus. Prune distractions.
Chapter 8: Enfranchise and validate. Teamwork works.
Chapter 9: Be brave. Most things worth doing are hard.
Chapter 10: Be flexible. If you cannot scale, you will fail.

I could go into great detail about each chapter, but I think the titles speak for themselves. I think they are all fantastic rules to follow for a successful life, and business!

Toward the end of the book I learned to my surprise that Meg Whitman is running for governor of California. With her background, it sounds like she could do a great job in helping California to recover. It will be interesting to see if she gets a chance to do that.

Now to the giveaway part of this post: I really enjoyed this book, and I would love to pass it on to one of my readers.

This contest runs from today until midnight MST on Sunday March 7th, 2010.

I will choose the winner randomly. Here are the rules to enter:

Comment to this post and tell me the name of the woman (or women) you most admire. This is the ONLY REQUIRED ENTRY and you will gain 1 entry point for your comment. (Please note: All other entries are invalid if this entry is not completed).

Below are other ways you can earn more entry points. More points means you have a greater chance of winning! You must make me aware that you have done any of these by leaving a comment.

Subscribe to my RSS feed. Current and new subscribers earn 5 points
Blog about this giveaway. 4 points
Tweet about this giveaway. 3 points
Add me to your blogroll. 3 points

Full disclosure: I requested this book from the publisher with the intent of reviewing and giving the book away. Thank you to the Associate Director of Marketing at Broadway & Crown Business for allowing me to have a review copy of this book.

The winner has been chosen and contacted by email. Thank you to all who entered my giveaway.