Fran Hauser, @Fransbookshelf
Author Spotlight
with Fran Hauser
Each month, Fran will highlight a female author whose work inspires women to be their best selves. Fran is an author herself, as well as a keynote speaker and investor at the intersection of women’s empowerment, new paradigms of leadership, and collective wellness.
She is the best-selling author of The Myth of the Nice Girl, which has been translated into six languages and was name “Best Business Book of the Year, 2018” by Audible. She regularly speaks at conferences and organizations to pioneer the notion that one does not have to choose between kindness and strength, and that the most effective leaders lead with both.
Connect with us each and every month here. And make sure to follow @fransbookshelf for even more book recommendations, giveaways and reading inspiration.
JULY PICK
Jennifer Barrett is the Chief Education Officer at Acorns, a financial wellness app with more than 9 million users. Prior to moving into FinTech, she spent many years as a journalist and editor for some of the biggest media companies in the world including CNBC and Hearst. In Think Like a Breadwinner: A Wealth-Building Manifesto for Women Who Want to Earn More (and Worry Less), Jennifer shares how she went from being thousands of dollars in debt to growing her household net worth to more than $1 million. She uses her journalism skills to unpack history and the fact that women aren’t brought up to think like breadwinners. In this book, she emboldens women to have a breadwinning mindset. “Nothing is more empowering than knowing you can take care of yourself and your future without needing to depend on anyone.”
JUNE PICK
Rebecca Minkoff was 21 when Jenna Elfman wore her I Love NY t-shirt on Jay Leno, creating instant demand for Rebecca’s 5-piece capsule collection. Four years later, in 2005, Rebecca launched the iconic Morning After Bag (M.A.B). It’s easy to look at this success and label it “overnight”. But in Rebecca’s book Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success, she takes us through the blood, sweat and tears that went into building her brand and her business.
She’s a great storyteller. And this book is a beautiful extension of the work she does every day to inspire women as a business leader; by way of her nonprofit, Female Founder Collective; and through her namesake products.
“Being fearless doesn’t mean you don’t have fear. It means that as you look fear head-on, shaking in your boots, you do what’s scaring you anyways.” In her book, Rebecca shares 21 rules that she lives by when it comes to seeing fear, pushing it aside, and moving forward.
MAY PICK
I’m a big fan of Julie Lythcott-Haims, the former Dean of Freshman at Stanford University and author of New York Times bestselling How to Raise an Adult and Real American.
In her latest book, Your Turn: How to be an Adult she captures what it means to be a grown up. So much has changed about life and living since the time that psychologists came up with the five markers of adulthood: finish your education, get a job, leave home, marry, and have children. It’s just not that linear. And, out of all of these, the only one you HAVE to do is find a way to support yourself. Adulting is hard, but can also be “delicious”- Julie’s word!
The other thing I love about this book is Julie’s commitment to inclusion. She purposefully included stories and perspectives of people who in the aggregate reflect the rich diversity of our human community, including people with: different gender and sexual orientations; racial. ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds; mental health challenges and disabilities; and more. “By putting these people on the page with equal dignity, all are ‘normalized’; none are outliers or ‘others’.”
APRIL PICK
Lindsey Pollak is a NYT bestselling author and an expert in navigating today’s ever-changing, multigenerational workplace. In her new book, Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work, she shares with us specific mindset shifts and actions that can help you through a successful career transition. With 3 million women being forced our of the workforce, this book could not have come at a better time. I love the fundamental premise: when you embrace the art of recalculating, you accept the knowledge that your career path will not be a clear, straight line forward.
MARCH PICK
Susan McPherson is a master connector. It’s her superpower, and, as she says, comes as naturally to her as breathing. “I’ve been called the Serial Connector, a human Customer Relationship Management (CRM) app – and I’ve spent the last 30 years of my career building relationships that are deep and expansive, ” Susan writes in the introduction to her new book, The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships. Relationships are the cornerstone of one’s career success – I know they’ve been invaluable to mine. We all need people in our corner, whether they’re cheerleaders, motivators, listeners, sages, mentors, or connectors.
When my book The Myth of the Nice Girl launched, Susan generously invited around 20 friends and colleagues to her rooftop to celebrate. The connections I made at that gathering resulted in an important speaking engagement and an invitation to be a guest on a TV show. She brings people together so naturally and authentically.
And now, in her book, Susan shares her infinite wisdom and the tools you need so you, too, can be a master connector.
FEBRUARY PICK
For my inaugural author spotlight, I’m thrilled to choose Erica Keswin. A WSJ best selling author, Erica is an expert in creating high-performing workplace cultures and her books focus on the importance of human interaction and connection to bring the best of ourselves to work- a tenet I fully subscribe to.
She details in her latest book, Rituals Roadmap, how she became fascinated with rituals and studying the impact of rituals on business. Originating from a study on the correlation between firefighter productivity and the act of sharing meals, she makes a business case for rituals at work and turning ordinary routines into workplace magic.
About
Fran Hauser
Fran Hauser is a long-time media executive, startup investor, keynote speaker and best-selling author of The Myth of the Nice Girl. She's held senior positions at some of the world’s largest digital media businesses, including PEOPLE, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly and AOL. Now a startup investor who largely invests in female founders, Fran was named one of Business Insider's "30 Women in Venture Capital to Watch in 2018." Fran and The Myth of the Nice Girl have been featured on a wide range of outlets including NBC’s Today Show, CNBC, PEOPLE, Fortune, TIME, Fast Company, Oprah.com, Business Insider, Elle, and many more. The Myth of the Nice Girl was named Audible's Best Business Book of 2018 and one of Amazon's Best Business and Leadership Books of 2018, among other accolades. Fran is a frequent speaker on women's leadership and writes a regular career advice column for Refinery29.