Book Review: Wildly Sophisticated by Nicole Williams

Wow! I really highly recommend this book. It's structure is excellent. It's writing is clear with illustrative examples and a personal feel. It doesn't feel too rigid. It is full of inspiring quotes, examples, exercises, and thing to think about. The re-read value is high enough that I would like to purchase my own copy (I got it from the library and I'm kicking myself for not grabbing it when I saw it discounted for $10 at a small bookshop a week before my library copy became available.)

Basically, the book isn't just about getting ahead at your current job. It's also about finding out what your interests and passions are. There is a whole section focussed on reflecting on your strengths, interests, and values. It's also great for goal setting and ways to move up within a company or venture out on your own to start your own business. The book is aimed primarily at women, but I think there are a lot of lessons that men could also take from the book.

I liked that the sections were short with clear headers. There was a lot of white space around the text and there were certain sections that were set apart from the main text in boxes. These were mainly the exercises and illustrative examples designed to make you think. They did provide me with a lot to think about and clarified some of my own goals and passions.

The writing feels personal and real. It's not overly optimistic and the writer incorporates some of her own journey of writing the book, into the book. This made it easy to read. The points weren't redundant and it was in plain everyday language. It focuses on using your strengths to be successful instead of the business structure.

I would like to own the book because I think it's something I would come back to in years to come. Afterall, careers and goals change. You never know when life is going to throw you a curve ball and you're going to need to re-evaluate things in your life.