Welcome to the WiT Book Shop



The Book Shop will feature a variety of books recommended by our members and expert presenters.  Enjoy browsing the shelves and remember if you've come across a great read please let us know so that we can share.

By purchasing from our Book Shop you will be supporting Queensland's women in STEM.

 



   

Title Feature

A Memoir by WiT Founder Sonja Bernhardt OAM

How did Sonja Bernhardt, university dropout, single parent, sacked from a corporate role, manage to survive that and a series of health scares, to first create then grow and sell her software company, becoming a multi-millionaire?  Follow Sonja’s sometimes quirky journey as an outspoken woman navigating the “bro” world of technology, through a wonderland of corporate and personal rabbit holes, networking and passion projects. Dodging (or climbing back out of) the pitfalls to build a value-adding technology platform, and coming out the other end realising her dream goals. While smashing a few nerd myths along the way.

Her story is a shining example of how grit, determination, resilience and persistence — mixed with an everlasting supply of optimism and a true love of life — conquers heart breaking failures and leads to soaring successes. Sonja's tale spans Oceania, Asia, Europe, North and South America, as her life weaves through close encounters with world leaders, including a royal or two. And her pioneering efforts to attract and promote females into technology studies and careers is a constant thread.



Full Catastrophe Living is a manual for developing your own personal meditation practice and learning how to use mindfulness to promote improved health and healing in your own life. It is based on Jon Kabat-Zinn's highly acclaimed stress reduction programme at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre, where he uses mindfulness to help thousands of people cope with stress, anxiety, pain and illness.

This book will enable you to develop your own stress management programme. It provides easy-to-follow meditation techniques, a detailed eight-week practice schedule, dozens of success stories, plus the latest research findings.

This new edition has been revised and updated to include the latest research in support of mindfulness-based programmes and their effectiveness for stress reduction, symptom regulation and emotional balance. It is a practical guide for anyone, well or ill, who seeks to transcend their limitations and move towards greater levels of health and well being.





A practical guide for bringing gender equality to the workplace with a new imperative: unburden women's careers from work that goes unrewarded.

THE NO CLUB started when four women who were crushed by endless to-do lists banded together over $10 bottles of wine and vowed to get their work lives under control. Running faster than ever, they nevertheless trailed behind their male colleagues. And so, they vowed to say no to requests that pulled them away from the work that mattered most to their careers.

This book reveals how their over-a-decade-long journey and groundbreaking research uncovered that women everywhere are unfairly burdened with "non-promotable work", a tremendous problem we can - and must - solve.All organizations have work that no one wants to do: planning the office party, screening interns, attending to that time-consuming client, or simply helping others with their work. From office housework to important assignments that inevitably go unrewarded, a woman, most often, takes on these tasks. I

Upon study upon study, professors Linda Babcock (bestselling author of WHY WOMEN DON'T ASK), Brenda Peyser, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie Weingart - the original "No Club" - document that women are disproportionately asked and expected to do this kind of work. This imbalance leaves women overcommitted and underutilized as companies forfeit revenue, productivity, and top talent.But it doesn't have to be this way.

THE NO CLUB walks you through how to make small, yet important, changes to your own workload and empowers women to make savvy decisions about what they take on. At the same time, the authors illuminate how lasting change calls for organizations to reassess how they assign and reward work to level the playing field. With hard data, personal anecdotes from women of all stripes, practical self- and workplace-assessments, and innovative advice from consulting in Fortune 500 companies, this book will forever change the conversation about how we advance women's careers and achieve equality in the twenty-first century.



Maximize employee performance with this updated edition of the classic bestseller In Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement, renowned thought leader and internationally recognized workplace expert Aubrey Daniels takes a look at today's rapidly changing work environment, providing a timely update to his seminal book on performance management. As one of the foremost speakers and writers in the human performance field, for nearly 40 years Daniels has worked with organizations to apply scientifically-based behavioral tools and principles to effectively address workplace issues-particularly as they relate to management, leadership, culture, innovation, safety, engagement, and collaboration. Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement, presents Daniels' proven strategies that have been successfully adopted by hundreds of organizations worldwide-ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies-and delivers step-by-step instruction and positive practices to help you implement and sustain positive change.


What are you afraid of - and how is it holding you back?The phenomenal classic on moving from a place of paralysis, pain and indecision to one of energy, enthusiasm and action. Whatever your anxieties, Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway can teach you how to handle what life throws at you, allowing you to take control, move forwards and live the life you want.First published over 30 years ago, Susan Jeffers' phenomenal classic has helped change the lives of over two million readers around the world. Her timeless advice is as important and relevant today as when it was first published- we live in an era governed by fear - fear of failure, of missing out, of rejection, of the future, of change, of not fitting in, of intimacy, of being alone, of growing old ... the list seems endless. We are also easily paralysed by fear of the things we need to do from driving or public speaking to making tough decisions or asking for what we want or need. Whatever your challenge and whatever fears are holding you back, Susan Jeffers' profound advice, insight and tools will help you move from a place of paralysis, pain and indecision to one of energy, enthusiasm and action.

In Our Turn, Kirstine Stewart, VP Media for Twitter - named one of Canadian Business's Power 50 of 2016 for helping women discover their leadership potential - draws on her extensive experience to share her smart and practical approach to business. Like fellow high-flyers Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer, Kirstine Stewart has built an incredibly successful career as a media and technology executive. She got her first job when she applied for an entry-level position at a film distribution house. Having worked her way up from the bottom - under women and men, leaders good and bad - she believes it's time we looked past the question of how women might create change in the working world and exploit the fact that profound change is already under way. 


   


When it comes to recruiting, motivating, and creating great teams, Patty McCord says most companies have it all wrong. McCord helped create the unique and high-performing culture at Netflix, where she was chief talent officer. In her new book, Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility, she shares what she learned there and elsewhere in Silicon Valley.  McCord advocates practicing radical honesty in the workplace, saying good-bye to employees who don't fit the company's emerging needs, and motivating with challenging work, not promises, perks, and bonus plans.  Powerful will change how you think about work and the way a business should be run.


Rock star, crowdfunding pioneer, and TED speaker Amanda Palmer knows all about asking. Performing as a living statue in a wedding dress, she wordlessly asked thousands of passers by for their dollars. When she became a singer, songwriter, and musician, she was not afraid to ask her audience to support her as she surfed the crowd (and slept on their couches while touring). And when she left her record label to strike out on her own, she asked her fans to support her in making an album, leading to the world's most successful music Kickstarter.

Even while Amanda is both celebrated and attacked for her fearlessness in asking for help, she finds there are important things she cannot ask for - as a musician, a friend, a wife. She learns that she isn't alone in this, that so many people are afraid to ask for help, and it paralyses lives and relationships. In this ground-breaking book, she explores these barriers in her own life and in the lives of those around her, and discovers the emotional, philosophical, and practical aspects of The Art of Asking.


In her most revealing and powerful memoir yet, the activist, speaker, bestselling author, and "patron saint of female empowerment" (People) explores the joy and peace we discover when we stop striving to meet others' expectations and start trusting the voice deep within us.

There is a voice of longing inside each woman. We strive so mightily to be good: good partners, daughters, mothers, employees, and friends. We hope all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed. We look at our lives and wonder: Wasn't it all supposed to be more beautiful than this? We quickly silence that question, telling ourselves to be grateful, hiding our discontent--even from ourselves.

The Artist's Way provides a twelve-week course that guides you through the process of recovering your creative self. It aims to dispel the 'I'm not talented enough' conditioning that holds many people back and helps you to unleash your own inner artist. Its step-by-step approach enables you to transform your life, overcome any artistic blocks you may suffer from, including limiting beliefs, fear, sabotage, jealousy and guilt, and replace them with self-confidence and productivity. The Artist's Way will demystify the creative process by making it a part of your daily life. From Alicia Keys to Elizabeth Gilbert, Patricia Cornwell to Pete Townshend, The Artist's Way has helped thousands of people around the world to discover their inner artist. Whatever your artistic leanings, this book will give you the tools you need to enable you to fulfil your dreams.



New York Times best-selling author and professor Brene Brown offers a powerful and inspiring book that explores how to cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection to embrace your imperfections and to recognize that you are enough. Each day we face a barrage of images and messages from society and the media telling us who, what, and how we should be. We are led to believe that if we could only look perfect and lead perfect lives, we'd no longer feel inadequate. So most of us perform, please, and perfect, all the while thinking, What if I can't keep all of these balls in the air? Why isn't everyone else working harder and living up to my expectations? What will people think if I fail or give up? When can I stop proving myself? In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown, PhD, a leading expert on shame, authenticity and belonging, shares what she's learned from a decade of research on the power of Wholehearted Living--a way of engaging with the world from a place of worthiness. 


'How to find the right words to frame this horror? How to understand why men do what they do to women? How to comprehend this malign force that seems to seep from the male psyche and infect us all? . . . That is the central hope, the appeal, embedded in this book: that other men might join me in this investigation and ruthless self-interrogation-and in doing so, become part of the change that is so urgently required.' David Leser In February 2018, the Good Weekend cover story by David Leser, 'Women, men and the whole damn thing', had an extraordinary response. David received hundreds of personal messages from readers around the world - both women and men - urging him to expand his story. Here is that book: a brilliant, impassioned, unflinching account of the firestorm of #MeToo, how we got there and where we must now go. In this essential and incisive investigation, Leser unearths the roots of misogyny, its inextricable links to the patriarchy, and how history brought us to the #MeToo movement and the wave of incandescent female rage that is sweeping the world. 


This is the story I promised myself, aged twenty-one, that I would one day be brave enough - and well enough - to write. Clare Bowditch has always had a knack for telling stories. Through her music and performing, this beloved Australian artist has touched hundreds of thousands of lives. But what of the stories she used to tell herself? That 'real life' only begins once you're thin or beautiful, that good things only happen to other people. YOUR OWN KIND OF GIRL reveals a childhood punctuated by grief, anxiety and compulsion, and tells how these forces shaped Clare's life for better and for worse. This is a heartbreaking, wise and at times playful memoir. Clare's own story told raw and as it happened. A reminder that even on the darkest of nights, victory is closer than it seems. With startling candour, Clare lays bare her truth in the hope that doing so will inspire anyone who's ever done battle with their inner critic. This is the work of a woman who has found her true power - and wants to pass it on. Happiness, we discover, is only possible when we take charge of the stories we tell ourselves. 



I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry. But the salons have given me the opportunity to look back and think about my life...I don't talk to anyone about these feelings outside of the salon.' We all carry stories within us - wrenching, redemptive, extraordinary, and laced with unexpected and hard-won wisdom. These are the real-life stories that a group of women tell each other when they gather for a deep and structured conversation - once a month in a suburban living room - about the things that really matter. They discover that life can be a heartbeat away from chaos; that bad things happen to good people; that good people do outrageous things; that the desire for transformation is enduringly human. A mother tells of the heart-breaking loss of control when her daughter develops anorexia. A sister reveals the high psychological cost of being hated by a sibling over the course of her life. Husbands leave wives; wives take lovers; friendships shatter; wrong choices turn out to be right ones; agency is lost and re-claimed. 




Michelle Robinson Obama served as First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Mrs. Obama started her career as an attorney at the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she met her future husband, Barack Obama. She later worked in the Chicago mayor's office, at the University of Chicago, and at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Mrs. Obama also founded the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an organization that prepares young people for careers in public service. She is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir Becoming, which has sold more than 11.5 million copies around the world. The Obamas currently live in Washington, DC, and have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.


*THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER*'HELL YES. This is one of those books that has the potential to change things - a monumental piece of research' Caitlin Moran Imagine a world where... Your phone is too big for your hand.... Your doctor prescribes a drug that is wrong for your body... In a car accident you are 47% more likely to be injured. If any of that sounds familiar, chances are you're a woman. From government policy and medical research, to technology, workplaces, and the media. Invisible Women reveals how in a world built for and by men we are systematically ignoring half of the population, often with disastrous consequences. Caroline brings together for the first time an impressive range of case studies, stories and research from across the world that illustrates the hidden ways in which women are forgotten, and the profound impact this has on us all. 




The New York Times bestseller, which has become a must-have for women in business, is now revised and updated in celebration of its 10th anniversary.  Internationally recognized executive coach Dr Lois P. Frankel teaches women how to eliminate unconscious mistakes that could be holding them back, and gives invaluable coaching tips that can easily be incorporated into social and business skills. The results are career opportunities women never thought possible and the power and know-how to occupy the corner office! Stop making "nice girl" mistakes such as:

  • Mistake #13: Avoiding office politics
  • Mistake #82: Asking permission 
  • Mistake #21: Multi-tasking
  • Mistake #100: Smiling inappropriately
  • Mistake #54: Failure to negotiate



In Smarter Faster Better, he applies the same relentless curiosity, rigorous reporting and rich storytelling to explain how we can get better at the things we do. The result is a ground-breaking exploration of the science of productivity. A group of data scientists at Google embark on a four-year study of how the best teams function, and find that how a group interacts is much more important than who is in the group. A Marine Corps general, faced with low morale among recruits, reimagines boot camp u and discovers that instilling a bias toward action' can turn even the most directionless teenagers into self-motivating achievers. The filmmakers behind Disney's Frozen are on the brink of catastrophe u until they shake up their team in just the right way, spurring a creative breakthrough that leads to one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. What do these people have in common? They know that productivity relies on making certain choices. The way we frame our daily decisions; the big ambitions we embrace and the easy goals we ignore; the cultures we establish as leaders to drive innovation- these are the things that separate the merely busy from the genuinely productive. 


Intuition is not some magical property that arises unbidden from the depths of our mind. It is a product of long hours and intelligent design, of meaningful work environments and particular rules and principles. This book shows us how we can hone our instinctive ability to know in an instant, helping us to bring out the best in our thinking and become better decision-makers in our homes, offices and in everyday life. Just as he did with his revolutionary theory of the tipping point, Gladwell reveals how the power of 'blink' could fundamentally transform our relationships, the way we consume, create and communicate, how we run our businesses and even our societies. You'll never think about thinking in the same way again.


In today's fast-paced world of competitive workplaces and turbulent economic conditions, each of us is searching for effective tools that can help us to manage, adapt, and strike out ahead of the pack. By now, emotional intelligence (EQ) needs little introduction--it's no secret that EQ is critical to your success. But knowing what EQ is and knowing how to use it to improve your life are two very different things.  Here's what people are saying about it:

"Emotional Intelligence 2.0 succinctly explains how to deal with emotions creatively and employ our intelligence in a beneficial way." --THE DALAI LAMA

"A fast read with compelling anecdotes and good context in which to understand and improve." --NEWSWEEK

"Gives abundant, practical findings and insights with emphasis on how to develop EQ." --STEPHEN R. COVEY

"This book can drastically change the way you think about success...read it twice." --PATRICK LENCIONI


Crucial Conversations has dominated the New York Times bestseller list for 10 years . . . and counting!  The long-awaited second edition of Crucial Conversations is exactly what's needed to help professionals keep up with today's faster-paced, higher-stakes business environment... where every conversation, every relationship, is more crucial than ever.

"The quality of your life comes out of the quality of your dialogues and conversations. Here's how to instantly uplift your crucial conversations." -Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the #1 New York Times bestselling series Chicken Soup for the Soul

"This is a breakthrough book. I found myself being deeply influenced, motivated, and even inspired." - Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People


We face many global challenges, including climate change, international tensions, technological instabilities, trade wars, increasing mental health problems, failing leadership, drug problems and national political upheaval. The question is: are our current leaders equipped to handle such situations and make the complex decisions needed to address them?

In Scientists in Every Boardroom, Dr Ruby Campbell will walk you through the unique challenges faced by anyone leading STEMM professionals (STEMM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine) and how to manage those challenges effectively. If you are a STEMM individual yourself, this book will help you understand why you may have found it difficult to transition to senior leadership roles, or get to the C-suite or the board level - and it will show you how to change that.



Become an Expert of Conflict Resolving Through Verbal and Non-Violent Methods! 

Have you ever been so angry at someone that you shouted mean things in his/her face just to hurt them? Or has it been done to you?

Did you find yourself in a situation where you don't know how to respond to someone shouting at you and throwing false accusations?

Did you ever feel bad for days after a certain conflict, worried you've damaged the relationship with that person?

If it makes you feel better, we have all went through at least one of those situations.



The world is crying out for kind and courageous leadership. In First Comes Courage, Sonia McDonald explores the power of leading with courage, and offers you great insights and tools to develop, nurture and grow courage within you and your teams.

You will be introduced to the courage compass which you can use to guide your teams selflessly, building them up and enabling them with the tools they need to achieve success. You will learn to lead through example, using the four points on the courage compass:

Kindness, Impact, Purpose, Resilience

This book will empower you to be spirited, confident, dauntless and selfless in all aspects of your life.



In a global world where ideas, fashion, technology and corporations move seamlessly from place to place it is logical that both the present and the future belongs to the skilled, to the agile and to the resilient... this is what Future Fit is all about." Bernard Salt AM

According to author Andrea Clarke, founder of CareerCEO and creator of its Future of Work Program, we all need a new kind of job security. Around the world, the nature of work and business is on the move. Digital disruption, globalisation and the casualisation of the workforce is drastically re-shaping the way we live and how we do business. Leading management consulting firms all agree that we can expect significant job disruption across all industries. But, they also agree that human skills will always be in demand.

In fact, they won't be just in demand, it's widely acknowledged that it's the 'human' skills that will enable us to not just survive the pending disruption but thrive in the age of accelerations


Leadership is not about titles, status and power over people. Leaders are people who hold themselves accountable for recognising the potential in people and ideas, and developing that potential. This is a book for everyone who is ready to choose courage over comfort, make a difference and lead.

When we dare to lead, we don't pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don't see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it and work to align authority and accountability. We don't avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into the vulnerability that's necessary to do good work.But daring leadership in a culture that's defined by scarcity, fear and uncertainty requires building courage skills, which are uniquely human.


When was the last time you listened to someone, or someone really listened to you?

This life-changing book will transform your conversations forever As a society, we've forgotten how to listen. Modern life is noisy and frenetic, and technology provides constant distraction. So we tune things out or listen selectively - even to those we love most. We've become scared of other people's points of view, and of silence. Now more than ever, we need to listen to those around us. 

istening is about curiosity and patience - about asking the right questions in the right way. Improvisational comedians and con men are much better at it than most of us. And the cleverest people can be the worst at it. Listening has the potential to transform our relationships and our working lives, improve our self-knowledge, and increase our creativity and happiness. While it may take some effort, it's a skill that can be learnt and perfected. When all we crave is to understand and be understood, You're Not Listening shows us how.



As a result of their broad experience on the world stage in politics, economics and global not-for-profits, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Julia Gillard have some strong ideas about the impact of gender on the treatment of leaders. Women and Leadership takes a consistent and comprehensive approach to teasing out what is different for women who lead. Almost every year new findings are published about the way people see women leaders compared with their male counterparts.

The authors have taken that academic work and tested it in the real world. The same set of interview questions were put to each leader in frank face-to-face interviews. Their responses were then used to examine each woman's journey in leadership and whether their lived experiences were in line with or different from what the research would predict. Women and Leadership presents a lively and readable analysis of the influence of gender on women's access to positions of leadership, the perceptions of them as leaders, the trajectory of their leadership and the circumstances in which it comes to an end. By presenting the lessons that can be learned from women leaders, Julia and Ngozi provide a road map of essential knowledge to inspire us all, and an action agenda for change that allows women to take control and combat gender bias.

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