4 out of 4 stars
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What does it take to be successful in the highly competitive business world? Could a woman excel in a traditionally male-dominated realm? Does a person's past determine one's present and future? Finding the Exit: It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish by businesswoman Lea A. Ellermeier is an autobiography that could provide answers.
Recent statistics show that 80% of new businesses fall and fail within 18 months of commencement. With her book, Lea shared how her firm went past these dismal records for newbies and even went beyond mere survival. Within the span of less than five years, it strove for and achieved what has been said as every start-up's dream of "exit" — getting noticed and bought by a Fortune 100 big name. How she and her team did it should be left to be read more about.
Lea had more obstacles to overcome. She may have lightly quipped about a serendipitous incident that she attributed to a momentary display of faith she had. However, her corporate ventures and experiences weren't as magically smooth sailing as that, and her accomplishments weren't as miraculously instantaneous either. Although current figures already improved, studies show that less than 5% of CEO positions and less than 30% of technology-driven jobs are filled in by women, and both records highlight the magnitude of what females having our author's title and field had to contend with. With her innate intellect, unwavering passion, and inner strength, she had to go way past the barriers of prejudice about her gender and all other circumstances to rightfully earn her spot as a leader and to face detractors and competitors. She narrated how she had to choose, trust, and rally her team, and how she collaborated with her partners. At a time of the early 21st-century recession and socio-economic turmoil in the US, Europe, and other developed countries, she had to believe, haggle for, struggle with, and eventually win the confidence of investors and other stakeholders for her company and its innovative product.
The memoir also contained stories about the author's beginnings — her childhood, her parents, her sister and the rest of her extended family, those people who failed her but she has learned from, and those who made a positive imprint in her earlier life. She recalled her tears and triumphs, her failures and achievements, her fears and dreams, and all else that made her into what she has become and accomplish what she had. She was also open with her story as a mum plagued with guilt at times but who still wanted to do the best she could for her beloved son, a wife struggling in her marriage with her husband who also had to make career and life choices of his own, and all other things among her personal life matters intertwined with her work responsibilities on a daily and strategic basis.
On its essence, this narrative is not for those who aren't interested in succeeding in life. It is definitely for those who want to get out of the rut and onwards to achieving what they should and intend to. It is foremostly relevant to those who want to succeed as entrepreneurs especially those who are planning to start or have just started an enterprise. However, it could also appeal to those in other undertakings or to any other human being who would like to find enough reason and motivation to keep on going for the goal regardless of what that is. It empowers women to think and strive for the best despite prevailing situations. Yet, it could also enlighten those who are debilitated by their own past lives or self-perception or by others' preconceived biases and rejections. It subtly prompts one to think about and be a better version of oneself even against outside forces one has no control of but still had to hurdle.
On its form, the manuscript's 38 chapters may initially have seemed to be a daunting read for me. However, such turned out to be more useful and appropriate. It provided more clarity and logic in presenting events with interspersing timelines and locations especially with the international nature of some parts of her corporation's beginnings and operations. The chapters were well organized but without unnecessarily sacrificing the need to capture the layering, variety, richness, and color prevalent in the author's life enough to keep the reader engrossed. Value-laden and information-filled it may have been, yet the book didn't veer towards unpopular bookishness. It educated and informed without the rigidity of dogma and the boredom caused by lengthy discourses. It tugged at the heart's strings while resonating sense to the psyche but not to the extent of excessive melodrama.
On its quality, I may have found a few errors here and there, but such weren't enough to distract me or to diminish my liking for what I've read. The work still generally appeared professionally edited and proofread, and it even seemed way better than some of the ones I have read or previously done reviews for. The downward pointing arrow in the cover may have signified an antithesis and could connote something people would normally be aversive to, but such was just a matter of aesthetics and marketing that could be resolved with a cover redo later.
Based on what I have written and more, I've got enough reason to conclude that this well-written, insightful book clearly deserves a 4 out of 4 stars rating. It had a thought-provoking start. It has been gripping, compelling, and readworthy right up to its end, which could also be a prelude for more.
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Finding The Exit
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