The B Words: 13 Words Every Woman Must Navigate for Success

Kagerer, executive vice president of risk management for a general contracting firm, offers a pragmatic guide for “young women, midcareer women, and women nearing retirement.” Kagerer shares her experience serving in leadership positions, and her counsel is organized into 13 thematic chapters concerning a topic that starts with the letter B. “Babies” covers family concerns and offers suggestions to women who do and don’t want children (things come back to “you must know yourself”). “Beliefs” aims to reframe women’s “limiting beliefs” about money, “Budgets” encourages women to take monetary decisions into their own hands, and “Bullies” surveys toxic workplace behavior (“Seventy percent of bullies are male bosses,” she writes). There’s no shortage of practical advice—avoiding self-deprecating humor as it gives “permission to dismiss” women, for example—and interviews with other successful women reinforce Kagerer’s ideas. Readers will appreciate Kagerer’s encouragement in dealing with conflict: “By getting to know yourself, you become more confident in how you react to things you can’t control.” Women having trouble navigating the workplace will find this a valuable resource. (Self-published)