In Play to Win: What women can learn from men in business, author Donna Rachelson (a businesswoman, branding and marketing specialist and well known speaker) gets to grips with ‘the rules’ and shows women how to work with them to advance their careers, while still celebrating  the strengths that women often inherently possess in the workplace.

In Rachelson’s third book, she draws on her own experience, published research and the experience of some of South Africa’s top businesswomen. This is a quick and practical read for any woman who wants to make her mark in the business world.

Rachelson explains, “There are many issues which affect working women. I wrote this book to deal with some of these issues. It’s a realistic, empowering and non-patronising approach to help women get ahead.  I believe that there’s tremendous power in both understanding ‘the rules’ of business that men play by and combining these with the strengths that women bring to the workplace. When we combine these two aspects, it makes women an extraordinary force in business.”

Rachelson is dedicated to empowering women and is involved in a number of development programmes. She strongly believes that different conversations are needed to bring about real change for women. Her book is results driven and pragmatic, as opposed to the often ‘soft’ approach  to developing women which includes aspects like work life balance, image and assertiveness skills.

The book focuses on nine lessons and offers practical tips about how to get noticed, how to take more risks, how to network effectively and how to successfully beat the imposter syndrome.

An example is Lesson #3: Don’t wait to get noticed. Rachelson explains that women have been brought up to believe that it’s more polite to wait to be asked. Women wait to be asked out on a date, they wait to be invited to dance and they wait for someone to ask to marry them. This carries over to the workplace, where women wait to be noticed or to be asked and then they become increasingly frustrated. This is in contrast with the rules men play by – they will tell you what they have achieved and ask for what they want. Rachelson recommends updating superiors on progress, claiming work victories first and becoming more visible.

Another example of women being passive in the workplace is when women tend to take a ‘no’ answer at face value. To  a man, a ‘no’ can be interpreted as ‘maybe’, ‘later’ and maybe even ‘no’ if all possibilities have been exhausted. This understanding can help women become more assertive.

Rachelson explores nine lessons:

Lesson #1: Business is a game
Lesson #2: It’s not personal
Lesson #3: Don’t wait to get noticed
Lesson #4: Ditch the small, incremental moves
Lesson #5: Ask, don’t hint
Lesson #6: Focus on results and deliverables
Lesson #7: Say it! (It doesn’t have to be 100%)
Lesson #8: Work your network like a man
Lesson #9: Fake it till you are it

About the author

Donna Rachelson is a businesswoman, entrepreneur, branding and marketing specialist and a well known speaker.

Having held a number of marketing director positions in organisations including Nando’s and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants as well as marketing management positions at Standard Bank South Africa and AECI (African Explosives and Chemicals Limited), she combines solid corporate marketing experience with an instinctive entrepreneurial flair.

She has a solid business education, including a MBA from the University of Witwatersrand and is currently a guest lecturer at GIBS (Gordon Institute of Business Science).

Rachelson has a fascination for personal and team branding and its impact on business growth and is the founder of Branding & Marketing YOU that helps people and teams in organisations better brand and market themselves.

She has spoken to and trained many people across more than 20 blue chips. She is active in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in South Africa where she has invested in startups; assists entrepreneurs get traction and build their markets and plays the role of Chief Catalyst for Seed Academy - a training, incubation and funding ecosystem for entrepreneurs.

Play to Win: What women can learn from men in business is Rachelson's most recent book. Her two previous best sellers are Branding & Marketing YOU and Branding & Marketing YOU through Teams.

Play to Win: What women can learn from men in business is published by BrandingandmarketingYOU Publications.