This is a comprehensive summary of “Unapologetically Ambitious” by Shellye Archambeau. The book explores take risks, break barriers, and create success on your own terms.

what’s in it for me? create your own luck, and reach your goals!#

Introduction

shellye archambeau.

unapologetically ambitious.

take risks, break barriers, and create success on your own terms.

narrated by alex vincent and oliver maines.

in high school, shellye archambeau set her sights on the very top of the corporate ladder, the role of ceo.

it's an ambitious goal for anyone, but for shellye it was especially so.

as an african-american woman born during the civil rights movement, she would have to contend with racial bias, as well as the challenges and expectations of being a working wife and mother.

but despite these obstacles, shellye rose to the upper echelons of tech giant ibm.

then she made her mark in silicon valley and became one of just a handful of black female ceos in tech.

she achieved all of this while building the family and home life she'd always envisioned for herself.

how did she do it?

well, shellye was raised to believe that people can create their own luck and increase their chances of success regardless of where they start.

by setting goals, strategizing effectively, and developing the attitude and skills to take advantage of opportunities when they appeared, shellye turned her ambitions into reality.

and so can you.

don’t let impostor syndrome hold you back.#

picture an african-american girl entering school in 1969 in a white neighborhood.

racial tensions are particularly high in the u.s., and her city, los angeles, has seen race riots and ku klux klan parades in recent years.

that girl was shellye archambault, and the issues gripping the country impacted her personally, too.

adults called her the n-word on the way to school, other children harassed her, and in one instance, two classmates physically assaulted her.

even the school administration singled shellye out.

when she got into the gifted and talented program, they decided something had gone wrong and asked everyone to retake the entrance test.

the second time around, only shellye failed.

such experiences can lead to imposter syndrome, the feeling of not belonging or of not deserving success.

and this often stops people from chasing their goals and living the life they want.

the key message here is, don't let imposter syndrome hold you back.

anyone, no matter how smart or ambitious, can fall victim to imposter syndrome.

shellye felt it many times throughout her life, but fortunately, it can be handled.

whenever self-doubting thoughts pop up, remember that they hold no truth and that some of the most successful people battle imposter syndrome.

it also helps to act confidently, regardless of how you feel.

this is a trick shellye still uses, even after becoming a silicon valley ceo.

when she feels intimidated, she feigns confidence and repeats the mantra, act like you know what you are doing, listen hard, and eventually, you will know what you're doing.

even if you have to fake confidence until it feels real, there will be people who believe in you and advocate for you.

shellye calls these your cheerleaders.

and when combating imposter syndrome, it's important to check in with your cheerleaders and believe them when they recognize your worth.

when shellye felt like an outsider in her neighborhood and school, she found cheerleaders who helped restore her confidence.

one such person was a math teacher, mrs. mizrahi.

noticing that shellye had a talent for math and a competitive nature, mrs. mizrahi encouraged her to help other students with their assignments.

this nudge gave shellye the recognition she needed to boost her self-esteem.

to identify your cheerleaders, think of those who always encourage you.

ask a good friend to highlight your worth and abilities whenever necessary.

this will help you believe in yourself, even when it feels as though the world around you doesn't.

decide on your goals and create a strategy to achieve them.#

chapter 2 of 6 you know that proverbial pie everyone talks about?

well, people usually want a bigger piece of it, right?

so when her mother got the smallest piece of real pie during family meals, young shellye naturally thought it was unfair.

after all, her mother took care of the family budget and ensured that everyone's needs were met.

plus, she baked the pie in question.

but from shellye's mother's perspective, she wasn't actually sacrificing a bigger piece of pie.

she had other goals on her mind.

the key message here is, decide on your goals and create a strategy to achieve them.

this pie issue taught shellye the importance of setting goals and remaining singularly focused on them.

her mother's goal was to eventually own a horse, and with that as her priority, a larger portion of pie simply didn't matter.

what did matter was the money she saved by sewing the family's clothes and cooking from scratch.

part of this money later paid for her very own thoroughbred.

shellye got a chance to set a goal of her own when it was time to select a career path.

initially, she wasn't sure what to pursue.

but after some prompting from a guidance counselor, shellye shared how much she enjoyed organizing and leading clubs and activities.

during this pivotal conversation, the guidance counselor suggested that shellye might enjoy running a business.

and so, she decided to become a chief executive officer, or ceo.

however, settling on a goal wasn't enough.

just like her mother had devised a plan to save money for the horse, shellye also needed to plan her way to that ceo position.

the first part of the plan was choosing a college to attend.

knowing that there were very few black women among the world's ceos, shellye understood that she needed every possible advantage.

she therefore settled for no less than the wharton school of the university of pennsylvania, the top-ranked business school in america at the time.

but before heading to campus, shellye made one more strategic move.

she got a summer temp job as a secretary at her father's workplace, the ibm field engineering headquarters.

here, she took advantage of the opportunity to speak with many of the employees and executives around her.

shellye received invaluable advice through these conversations, such as the importance of choosing a growing field where opportunities are plenty.

this inspired shellye to go into the expanding tech industry, where her career really started to take off.

be as strategic about choosing a life partner as you are about your goals.#

chapter 3 of 6 if you've ever watched a romantic comedy, then you're familiar with this storyline.

two people meet by chance and then adorably fumble along until realizing they're meant for each other.

but this doesn't only happen in the movies.

many people also find their partners this way off-screen.

for shellye, however, the process was slightly different.

there was no fumbling along when she met her husband, scotty, in her junior year of college.

she knew she wanted to marry young and that she needed to find someone who would support her goals.

increasing the odds of this called for a very deliberate approach to dating.

the key message here is, be as strategic about choosing a life partner as you are about your goals.

shellye's method for choosing a partner was to determine the qualities that mattered most to her and establish if her prospect shared her vision for the future.

she advises anyone seeking a life partner to do the same.

think about all the qualities you'd like in an ideal partner, and then whittle the list down to the most critical ones.

for example, shellye's final list included qualities such as confidence, self-sufficiency, and a willingness to be a stay-at-home dad while she pursued her career.

if scotty hadn't possessed these qualities, it would have meant the end of his and shellye's relationship.

luckily, scotty ticked all the boxes, and just months after they'd met, the pair got engaged.

not everyone around them was excited about the news.

the 18-year age gap between shellye and scotty concerned her family.

but shellye handled this by practicing a skill that would serve her repeatedly throughout her life and career.

self-determination.

self-determination is the ability to make responsible decisions about your life and stand firmly behind them, even if others disagree.

to become self-determined, people need to believe they are competent and have autonomy.

they also need to feel that they fit into an environment or community.

this is called relatedness.

it can be especially challenging for people in minority groups to develop self-determination, but it is possible.

to improve your self-determination, think of your levels of competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

then, determine which ones need improving and what steps you can take.

for instance, growing up in a mostly white environment left shellye feeling that she didn't belong.

but by connecting with other african-american students in college, she strengthened her sense of relatedness.

know when you’re taking on too much, and find harmony by integrating different aspects of your life.#

chapter 4 of 6 by her own admission, and from what we've learned in previous chapters, shellye archambault is undoubtedly a type a personality.

such people are usually determined, hardworking, and highly ambitious.

positive traits that helped shellye define and pursue her goals.

but type a personalities also have negative traits, one being that they find it difficult to delegate.

this trait was on full display when shellye's family moved into a newly built house.

despite being pregnant, shellye did the landscaping, decorating, and everything else necessary to make the house a home.

at this point, she received some advice that applied to both her home life and her career.

the key message here is, know when you're taking on too much, and find harmony by integrating different aspects of your life.

watching her do so much in the new house, shellye's mother advised her to delegate some of the responsibilities.

the act of delegating not only frees up time at home, it also helps people move up in organizations.

as shellye puts it, the higher ups in a company don't get there because they can single-handedly do everything.

they're promoted for their ability to direct and inspire other people to do the required work.

in addition to boosting career prospects, delegating and taking on less is also good for overall well-being.

shellye learned this the hard way while juggling work, a packed social calendar, and raising two young children.

the stress from all these responsibilities left shellye depressed, and eventually led her to therapy, where she discovered the importance of prioritizing herself as she climbed the corporate ladder.

shellye began exercising, which benefited her mind as well as her body.

she learned to be realistic about her capacity to help others and started saying no to requests.

and she also started asking herself what she really needed to focus on from one day to the next.

there's one more thing that helped shellye get a better handle on her work and personal life, and that's the idea of work-life integration.

unlike work-life balance, which suggests that work and life can and should be equally prioritized, work-life integration allows people to prioritize different things at different times.

it also encourages creativity and getting multiple things done in one go.

for instance, when shellye struggled to find time for her friends, she started inviting them to exercise with her.

be vocal about what you want career-wise – and if something blocks your progress, find a way around it.#

chapter 5 of 6 while learning to delegate and master work-life integration, shellye still had her eyes fixed on landing a ceo position.

she joined ibm after graduating.

her goal was to eventually lead the company.

after learning that most of ibm's ceos had started in sales, gained management experience, and then become executives, shellye planned to do the same.

and she wanted to do it by 30.

but as that age approached, her boss repeatedly insisted that there weren't any management opportunities.

this called for action.

shellye lined up some interviews and was soon offered a marketing manager position elsewhere.

so in order to keep shellye a top performer, her manager quickly arranged the promotion she'd wanted.

the key message here is, be vocal about what you want career-wise, and if something blocks your progress, find a way around it.

by going out to find an opportunity instead of waiting for someone to hand her one, shellye was steering her career in the direction she wanted.

another tactic she used at various points in her professional journey was making absolutely everyone aware of her goals and intentions.

you never know who has the power or connections to make things happen.

by broadcasting your intentions, you up the chances of finding opportunities.

and you also ensure that you're not held back because the information isn't passed on.

shellye experienced this when it was time for the next step in her plan, becoming a branch manager.

despite sharing these ambitions with her direct manager, she wasn't getting promoted.

so shellye spoke to the manager above hers.

the conversation revealed that there were relevant positions outside her area, but no one had communicated the fact that she was willing to relocate.

when the manager learned this, shellye got her promotion.

a few years after becoming a branch manager, shellye reached the executive level at ibm, but she never advanced further.

however, she did learn another vital lesson in career management.

if something blocks your way, go around it.

shellye began noticing that she wasn't getting her fair dues at ibm.

for instance, even though she was a high performer, when ibm's ceo met with executives in shellye's region, she wasn't invited.

even worse, she earned less than her colleagues.

all this indicated that shellye would never become ceo at ibm, and so she resigned and looked for a different company at which to pursue that goal.

to increase your opportunities, stay flexible, and be willing to take a few risks.#

chapter 6 of 6 shellye's decision to move around obstacles led her to silicon valley in the late 1990s.

tech was emerging as the next big thing, and everyone wanted in.

initially, her experience made finding a new role easy.

she joined an internet service provider before later moving on to a website company where she became executive vice president.

things were going well, until the stock market crashed.

the website company shrank drastically, forcing shellye to seek new opportunities.

she felt ready to finally become a ceo, but the crash meant that silicon valley was full of people looking for work.

plus, as an african-american woman, shellye didn't look like your typical tech ceo.

but this didn't mean she didn't stand a chance.

the key message here is, to increase your opportunities, stay flexible, and be willing to take a few risks.

moving toward success often requires some flexibility.

for shellye, this meant adjusting what she was looking for.

through research and conversations with people who'd been in silicon valley longer, shellye gathered that she wouldn't get hired as ceo at a top-ranking company.

there were simply too many other candidates with more industry experience.

but shellye also knew that she had the skills to help a smaller, less promising company succeed, and that doing so would boost her credibility.

this is how shellye wound up applying for the ceo role at zapplet, a company that was, in her words, very broken, but well-connected, with a lot of potential.

and it paid off.

she got the job, and over 10 years, she transformed struggling zapplet into metricstream, an award-winning software solutions company.

now, many would say joining a floundering company in hopes of turning it around is far too risky.

but risks played a big role in shellye's success.

being ambitious in life and in work involves taking risks.

avoiding them may feel safer, but it also limits opportunities for rewards.

to turn risks into rewards, it helps to have support.

shellye had this in her family, her cheerleaders, and her partner.

this allowed her to take risks knowing she could always ask for help.

another factor that enables risk-taking is developing confidence and resilience, which happens when people repeatedly embrace risk.

the resulting successes teach them that they're capable, while failure demonstrates that they can always get up again.

last, when contemplating risks, it's useful to weigh the fears against the value of the opportunity.

shellye's approach is to consider the potential rewards and then ask herself if she can live with the worst-case scenario.

if the answer is yes, she takes the leap.

final summary#

Conclusion

the key message in these chapters is that reaching your professional goals isn't easy, but it's not impossible either.

even when it seems that the odds aren't in your favor, you can set personal and professional ambitions and strategize your way toward them.

there'll be times when you need to juggle or integrate priorities, change course, or even take risks, and having support and self-determination will help you stand behind those decisions.

and here's some actionable advice.

establish your reputation.

while a good degree from a recognized college certainly helps a career, at some point it takes second place behind the reputations people build for themselves.

so once you're in the workforce, find training and education opportunities to improve your skills, and focus on making sure that the quality of your work makes you stand out.

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