Disrupters , livre ebook

Advance Praise for Disrupters
For the past 30 years, I have been building world-class diverse teams and engaging and developing women leaders. Dr. Patti s pragmatic approach to helping you become the CEO of your own career is sound and actionable advice that will lead to success in your personal and professional life.
-J OYCE B ROCAGLIA , FOUNDER OF E XECUTIVE W OMEN S F ORUM
Readable, thoughtful, and wise, Dr. Patti Fletcher s Disrupters should be added to the business bookshelf of any woman or man who takes the challenges of diversity and inclusion to heart.
-T ERESA N ELSON , P H .D., FOUNDING PRINCIPAL OF T HE I MPACT S EAT AND P ROFESSOR OF B USINESS AT S IMMONS C OLLEGE
Dr. Patti s book is your roadmap to live the life you want to live while achieving success as you define it on your own terms.
-B ARBARA C LARKE , A NGEL I NVESTOR , V ENTURE C APITALIST , AND FOUNDING PRINCIPAL OF T HE I MPACT S EAT
I ve known Patti for many years, and her passion for helping women is impressive. She speaks from the heart, focuses on results, and uses her vast experience to bring meaningful advice to women who want to change the world.
-P ENNY H ERSCHER , FORMER TECH CEO AND PUBLIC COMPANY B OARD D IRECTOR
In Disrupters , Dr. Patti distills experience, insight, and evidence to show how women win and why some rules are just guidance for other people. If you plan to change the world, drink deep within these pages.
-R OWAN G ARDNER , CEO OF O ZO I NNOVATIONS L TD , UK
I write columns about entrepreneurship and crave intelligent insights. I can see I ll be using many quotes from Disrupters . There s a plethora of information in this book. Signs of a great read are: turned-down corners, underlined sentences, and scribbles in the margins. This is one of those books!
-E MMA S INCLAIR , MBE, CO - FOUNDER OF E NTERPRISE J UNGLE
Dr. Patti doesn t preach to the reader. She works with you to apply lessons learned from different women business leaders who have achieved success as they define it.
-S USAN D UFFY , H EAD OF CWEL, B ABSON
Pragmatic, direct, tough, insightful, passionate, and thoughtful. These words describe Dr. Patti Fletcher as much as her great new book. Disrupters is helpful for women from all walks of life, and it s no surprise someone as smart and talented as Patti has pulled it together in such a readable way.
-B OB F ITTS , FOUNDER AND PRODUCER OF SUP-X: T HE S TART U P E XPO AND SUP-X R ADIO
As someone who s bonded with Patti over shared challenges, frustrations, and triumphs, I can tell you this is a business book for real business women. If you re like me, you ll find yourself nodding along or cursing under your breath. If you re tired of the ambiguous suggestions or utopian fantasies of other books, read Disrupters .
-B OBBIE C ARLTON , FOUNDER OF I NNOVATION W OMEN
I ve dedicated my career to helping extraordinary women reach their full potential. I cannot stress enough the importance of the message and lessons from Disrupters -regardless of their age or where they are in their careers. Buy this book now for the women leaders in your life!
-J ANE F INETTE , FOUNDER OF T HE C OACHING F ELLOWSHIP

Entrepreneur Press, Publisher
Cover Design: Andrew Welyczko
Production and Composition: Eliot House Productions
2018 by Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or further information should be addressed to the Business Products Division, Entrepreneur Media Inc.
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ebook ISBN: 978-1-61308-380-2
For Nana, Mom, Almas, Dad, Geri, Karen, Chris, Heather, Mimi, Bella, Gabby, and Winnie
contents

foreword by Lisa Ling

introduction
ONE
know the game
Facing the Reality
Fighting Second-Generation Gender Bias
Yes, It s Happened to You
A Century of Assimilation
The Economic Cost of Gender Bias
The Way of the Disrupter
DISRUPTER PROFILE
tech vs. the psychology of bias
TWO
define your own success
A Narrow Escape from Genocide and the Fight for Our Power
Find What Success Looks Like for You
Make the Means Justify the End
Don t Play the Game Like a Man
Can t Win the Race? Change the Rules
DISRUPTER PROFILE
pariah to pioneer
THREE
choose career and family
We Know We re a Lot of Trouble #sorrynotsorry
The Leaky Pipe of Corporate Talent
Refuse to Lose
The Myth of Work-Life Balance
Plan Smart Transitions
Maintain Strict Boundaries
Embrace Flexibility
Don t Hide Your Family
Have a Solid Foundation
DISRUPTER PROFILE
femtech founder
FOUR
get out of your head
We Just Don t Have What It Takes, Do We?
Getting Rid of Doubt, Inside and Out
Finding Confidence Despite the Criticism
Stop Listening to Act More Like a Man
DISRUPTER PROFILE
a fully formed woman-finally!
FIVE
use what you ve got (everyone else does)
We Don t Need a Handout
He Only Got That Job Because He s Tall and Handsome
Falling off the Glass Cliff
Do We Really Need Quotas? Apparently
Checking the Chick Box
DISRUPTER PROFILE
business maven
SIX
take the damn job!
Forget Confidence-Focus on Competence
Impostor Syndrome: The 800-Pound Gorilla in Your Brain
Be Aware When You re the Only Woman in the Room
Don t Assume Others Know More Than You
Act As If
Budget Your Energy More Than Your Time
Practice, Practice, Practice
Go Where You re Welcome
Say Yes to the Right Things
Reinvent Yourself. Again
Why Companies Need You: The Diversity Advantage
DISRUPTER PROFILE
the power of the outsider
SEVEN
mentoring works! (except when it doesn t)
The Awful Truth About Corporate Mentor Programs
Diversity vs. Inclusion
When Mentoring Works
DISRUPTER PROFILE
diversity goes high-tech
EIGHT
thrive in the tribe
It s Who You Know Who Knows You?
Try the New Way to Network
Forget Networks-Focus on Relationships
DISRUPTER PROFILE
the power of the tribe
NINE
lead like a woman
Traditional Leadership Doesn t Work Anymore
The Great Man Model
The Way Women Lead
How We Make Great Decisions
How We See Authority
Why Our Risk Lens Looks Different
Leadership: A Transaction or a Transformation?
Understand What Drives the Genders
Follow the 16,197 Percent Growth Strategy
Realize It s Not About You
Be the Leader You Want to Be
DISRUPTER PROFILE
explosive growth, a controlled burn, and a self-financed fortune
TEN
open the door for someone else
Third Girl s the Charm
Buzzing Queen Bees
Be the Rising Tide
Move the Needle
DISRUPTER PROFILE
when women thrive
EPILOGUE
you re not alone

endnotes
APPENDIX
resources
Start Local!
Organizations and Research
Conferences and Events
Online Communities and Resources
Books to Read

acknowledgments

index
foreword by Lisa Ling
I m grateful for the opportunities I ve had in my career. Despite not having a lot of resources growing up, I was fortunate to land a role in TV at just 16. Over the past 20-plus years, I ve had the opportunity to work with National Geographic, OWN, ABC, and CNN. I ve traveled the world and been able to do journalism the unique way I wanted to.
I always said that I would never use my gender to land any kind of concessions. To date, I ve never felt that being a woman played a role in anything I ve achieved. I ve always felt that my work spoke for itself.
More than a decade ago, though, I had an incident that made me change how I think and feel about being a woman in the workplace. I got the news that my show would be picked up for a season. I thought that was great until I got the news that my male counterparts had their shows picked up for two or three seasons.
If it had simply been a matter of their shows having higher ratings than mine, I would have completely understood. That would have been a business decision. But they didn t. My show had ratings comparable to theirs, if not slightly higher in some cases. There was no justification for them not picking up my show for as many seasons as they did my white, male peers .
For the first time in my life, I felt that my gender and ethnicity went against me. My work did speak for itself, yet it wasn t being recognized. My numbers were just as good, if not better, and yet their shows had secured multiple seasons versus my one.
Why?
Growing up as an Asian-American, my culture taught me not to rock the boat; don t do anything that would jeopardize your job. At the same time, my father raised me to not let my gender be an inhibition.
I also felt guilty about wanting to ask for more. In fact, my talent agents beg me, Lisa, don t negotiate your contracts. Let us do it for you because, otherwise, you ll do it for free. And they re right! I love what I do so much that I would probably do it no matter how little the networks offered. I love my work.
So there I was, dealing with all of these conflicting emotions. One part of me felt angry that I was being passed over. Part of me chided myself for wanting to rock the boat; I should just be glad that I was even being picked up for a season and not worry about others being disproportionately rewarded. Then, of course, there was the guilt about not being appropriately grateful for what I had.
I didn t even have children at the time, but for some reason, I just imagined what advice I would give my daughter years from now if she found herself in my shoes.
There was no hesitation. I knew immediately what I would tell her: that she should st