There's power in owning the obstacles you might face. This book shows you how to unlock it.In an ideal world, we'd succeed based on our actual skills and performance. But in the real world, subtle perceptions and stereotypes - about appearance, race, gender, experience and more - colour others' perceptions. The result might be that your hard work isn't noticed or appreciated, your effort doesn't lead to proportional rewards and your good ideas aren't taken seriously.But it doesn't have to be that way. As Harvard Business School Professor Laura Huang has discovered, there's a way to flip stereotypes and obstacles in your favour. Drawing on compelling case studies and her groundbreaking research on overcoming bias, Huang explains that by finding your edge, you can turn perceived disadvantages into real strengths - and into real success.Creating an edge is the key to succeeding within an imperfect system.Edge will help you make your hard work work harder for you. It will help you be seen - and empower you to take the spotlight with authenticity, charm and poise.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS 2021
How do you find a competitive edge when you feel like the world is against you?
How do you get people to take you seriously when they're predisposed not to?
Star Harvard Business School professor Laura Huang has come up against that problem many times - and so has anyone who's ever felt out of place or underrecognised. Many of us sit back quietly, hoping that our hard work and grit will speak for themselves. Or we force ourselves to fit the mold of what we perceive as 'successful', stifling the creativity and charm that makes us memorable.
In this perfect guide for ambitious readers of Amy Cuddy's Presence and Angela Duckworth's Grit looking for the missing piece that will take them to the next level, Huang offers a different approach.
She argues that success is rarely about the quality of your ideas, your credentials and skills or the effort you put in. Instead, it's about how well you shape others' perceptions - about your strengths, yes, but also about your flaws. It's about creating an edge by confronting the factors that seem like shortcomings and turning them into assets that persuade others to take notice.
Drawing from her research on gut feeling, pitching and investment decisions, as well as stories about previously overlooked Olympians, assistants-turned executives and first-time entrepreneurs, Huang shows that success comes from knowing who you are and using that knowledge unapologetically and strategically. This book will teach you how to find your unique edge and keep it sharp.
