Book #14 "Bossy Pants" by Tina Fey
"Bossy Pants" by Tina Fey is one of my new favorite books.
It is right up there with "Charlotte's Web" and "Les Miserables". I decided to read Bossy Pants because I thought it might give me some good tips on leadership. I tried reading "Lean In"months ago but found it unbearably arrogant. "Bossy Pants" though? I loved it so much I am listening it to on audio book now on my way to work. Hearing the book read by Tina Fey is great. And the repetition will make some of her tips stay in my long-term memory better.
Bossy Pants is not a leadership book for women, actually. It is a comic memoir of Tina's life and part of her life is being a woman and a boss at the same time. She offers two tidbits of advice that sum up how to be a good boss:
1. “In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.”
2. “Don't waste your energy trying to change opinions ... Do your thing, and don't care if they like it.”
Other than that, these are the five things I liked most about it:
1. Chapter "That's Don Fey": Tina's advice for good female bosses is to have a strong father figure, be a virgin till 40 and have a colonial lady costume. Don Fey is Tina's dad and I loved reading about him. I listened to the audio book chapter twice. He is stylish, he is rough, he is disciplined, he speaks Greek, when Don Fey walks into a room important people notice him and what he has to say. Needless to say, Don Fey sounds a lot like the Dos Equis Man. Don Fey is calm but makes Tina terrified to be wrong in every day choices. The words he uses most are "inexcusable" and "defective" to describe things that didn't work. I like Don Fey. He reminds me of the old-timey men that were born with little but had character by the age of 9. By 15 they were men.
My grandpa was of that generation. He was stern, handsome, hard-working and frugal. He built his business with his hands literally, he built it. He taught my uncles about how to run a good business, how to get ahead professionally and was forward thinking enough to send my mom to England at the age of 23 to learn English. Far from him, the family but with the idea to get his daughter ahead in life. She landed a great job with a global company as a result. He wasn't warm, he wasn't that affectionate, he wasn't emotional or into his or anyone's feelings. But he pushed you to be the best version of yourself. When I was in college he would call me every Sunday to tell me to study, wear good shoes (he was a shoe-maker by trade), and eat good food. I remember him at 85 yelling into the phone as if the further the distance of the phone call the louder he needed to speak. My grandpa talked with cats too. That one is a bonus.
2. Don't hire anyone who would treat you bad if they were your boss or anyone you wouldn't want to meet at 3 Am by the water cooler. That is a good tip. Thanks, Tina.
3. Never eat or drink diet products in a business meeting. I contemplated this one. Because I never have diet products normally, however if there is a meeting I go for the diet. Why? I think it makes me look disciplined, skinny, and it looks healthier. Those ideas are fake. Diet is really just as bad, if not worse, than regular junk food. So I am going to go for the real trash next time and just take advantage of it while it is there.
4. I loved Tina's chapter on women's body issues. She talks so much about taboo body issues that women never deal with: giant Kotex pads (hilarious SNL skit she wrote click here), butt issues, hip issues and women judging themselves over all. Every American woman should read this book just to get some balance from the trash we see in the grocery store by the magazines. Tina's chapter on body issues will make you love the dimples in your thighs.
5. I like how Tina talks about moms ganging up on other moms for competition. There really is so much competition out there among women in general. Tina points out that you are never up against another woman, you are competing with everyone.
Overall I would give this book a 10/10. I didn't learn much but it made me happy.
It is right up there with "Charlotte's Web" and "Les Miserables". I decided to read Bossy Pants because I thought it might give me some good tips on leadership. I tried reading "Lean In"months ago but found it unbearably arrogant. "Bossy Pants" though? I loved it so much I am listening it to on audio book now on my way to work. Hearing the book read by Tina Fey is great. And the repetition will make some of her tips stay in my long-term memory better.
Bossy Pants is not a leadership book for women, actually. It is a comic memoir of Tina's life and part of her life is being a woman and a boss at the same time. She offers two tidbits of advice that sum up how to be a good boss:
1. “In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.”
2. “Don't waste your energy trying to change opinions ... Do your thing, and don't care if they like it.”
Other than that, these are the five things I liked most about it:
1. Chapter "That's Don Fey": Tina's advice for good female bosses is to have a strong father figure, be a virgin till 40 and have a colonial lady costume. Don Fey is Tina's dad and I loved reading about him. I listened to the audio book chapter twice. He is stylish, he is rough, he is disciplined, he speaks Greek, when Don Fey walks into a room important people notice him and what he has to say. Needless to say, Don Fey sounds a lot like the Dos Equis Man. Don Fey is calm but makes Tina terrified to be wrong in every day choices. The words he uses most are "inexcusable" and "defective" to describe things that didn't work. I like Don Fey. He reminds me of the old-timey men that were born with little but had character by the age of 9. By 15 they were men.
My grandpa was of that generation. He was stern, handsome, hard-working and frugal. He built his business with his hands literally, he built it. He taught my uncles about how to run a good business, how to get ahead professionally and was forward thinking enough to send my mom to England at the age of 23 to learn English. Far from him, the family but with the idea to get his daughter ahead in life. She landed a great job with a global company as a result. He wasn't warm, he wasn't that affectionate, he wasn't emotional or into his or anyone's feelings. But he pushed you to be the best version of yourself. When I was in college he would call me every Sunday to tell me to study, wear good shoes (he was a shoe-maker by trade), and eat good food. I remember him at 85 yelling into the phone as if the further the distance of the phone call the louder he needed to speak. My grandpa talked with cats too. That one is a bonus.
2. Don't hire anyone who would treat you bad if they were your boss or anyone you wouldn't want to meet at 3 Am by the water cooler. That is a good tip. Thanks, Tina.
3. Never eat or drink diet products in a business meeting. I contemplated this one. Because I never have diet products normally, however if there is a meeting I go for the diet. Why? I think it makes me look disciplined, skinny, and it looks healthier. Those ideas are fake. Diet is really just as bad, if not worse, than regular junk food. So I am going to go for the real trash next time and just take advantage of it while it is there.
4. I loved Tina's chapter on women's body issues. She talks so much about taboo body issues that women never deal with: giant Kotex pads (hilarious SNL skit she wrote click here), butt issues, hip issues and women judging themselves over all. Every American woman should read this book just to get some balance from the trash we see in the grocery store by the magazines. Tina's chapter on body issues will make you love the dimples in your thighs.
5. I like how Tina talks about moms ganging up on other moms for competition. There really is so much competition out there among women in general. Tina points out that you are never up against another woman, you are competing with everyone.
Overall I would give this book a 10/10. I didn't learn much but it made me happy.
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