Scrappy Women in Business

Living Proof that Bending the Rules Isn't Breaking the Law

by Kimberly Wiefling

Although some people make it look easy, the reality is that the path to success is often convoluted and messy. It's tempting to believe that the professionals surrounding us somehow have their act completely together while we lurch fitfully onward, but the real story is often much more complicated and chaotic. This refreshingly honest book provides welcome reassurance for every businesswoman who's ever wondered, "Is it me, or has the whole rest of the company gone nuts?!" Each chapter is a fascinating description of one woman's unlikely journey, and every story is teeming with personal insights and practical tips to encourage you along the way toward your own goals and dreams.

The human side of each achiever comes alive as she shares her challenges, choices and achievements in a "just between us" tone that educates as it entertains.

If you've ever had "one of those days" where your co-workers seemed to grow horns or you were tempted to sink into the icy couch of despair--you are not alone! Once in a while we need to take a well-deserved break. Reading even just one chapter from 'Scrappy Business Women' will refresh your spirit and invigorate you for the next sprint.

If you're a seasoned professional, you'll see your own journey reflected in those of these women. And if you're just starting out on your professional journey, the wisdom in this guide will save you a whole lot of time and aggravation!

Share your own story at the ScrappyWomen.Biz website, which grew out of this 'gal pal' project. Your story, and those of enterprising, determined women like you, will help this collection grow from a trickle of wisdom into a fountain of inspiration from which millions of women will drink, and ultimately a platform from which they gain the courage to leap boldly into their own futures. Please visit and add your story to ours so that, drop by drop, we grow this tiny stream into an ocean of wisdom. Stay Scrappy!

Book Endorsements

"Kimberly Wiefling's delightful Scrappy Women in Business shatters the myth that the road to success depends on careful foresight and planning. By dissecting the diverse paths taken by eleven successful women, this book demonstrates why the virtues of persistence, improvisation, and embracing messiness and unpredictability are hallmarks of great leaders--and why the ability to develop and stick to a master plan is an overrated virtue."
Robert I. Sutton, http://bobsutton.typepad.com/, Stanford Professor and author of Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best...and Learn from the Worst.

"Kimberly Wiefling has created a book that should be required for women of all ages...regardless of whether they are self-employed or employees (and, if an employee, regardless of their 'level' within a company). Each woman featured in this book has achieved significant career success (based on their own personal definition of 'success')and never let obstacles deter their journey. During the toughest times, faced with the biggest challenges, they tapped into their creativity, gut, and brains, and pushed through. Even as a successful twenty-year business owner myself, I learned valuable information from each of their stories and was inspired by all of them."
Lisa Orrell, CPC, The Promote U Guru, Branding Expert, Marketing Consultant, Business Coach, Speaker & Author, PromoteUGuru.com.

"Ever have a day when everything goes wrong and you feel lost, defeated, and ready to quit? Well that is when you need to pick up this book and read a chapter. It will energize you with stories of women who faced tough challenges, and beat the odds on their road to success. These stories will save your sanity, keep you afloat and inspire you to pursue your dreams. Keep it handy when you need an energy boost!"
Mala Devlin, Author of The Software Soul.

"Scrappy Women in Business is a terrific shot in the arm of a book for all of us out there building our lives and our careers on the front lines of the 21st Century. The book is an empowering combination of the honest, wise, practical and humorous advice and experiences of a dozen remarkable women. Kimberly's own compelling story unfolds through the commentary she uses to weave together the remarkable stories of her eleven high-achieving colleagues. Here are intriguing examples and very practical advice to encourage you to keep on keeping on, scrappily changing the status quo while living up to your own potential and improving the lives and environment all around you. As Kimberly so aptly sums up in her book, 'Wooo hooo!'" 
Leslie Field, Ph.D., Founder and Managing Member of SmallTech Consulting, LLC, Founder and CEO of Ice911 Research Corporation, Consulting Professor in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University.

"You've heard of the theory of "Six Degrees of Separation?" In Silicon Valley I haven't yet been able to make it more than three degrees before people are connected to Kimberly Wiefling. Everyone has a story to tell about Kimberley. Everyone who's been in her sphere of influence."
Sandra A. Clark, Director of Communications, UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley.

Kimberly Wiefling

Kimberly Wiefling, Executive Editor of the Scrappy About Series, is a proven expert in enabling people to achieve what seems impossible, but is merely difficult. She is the author of one of the top project management books in the US,"Scrappy Project Management: The 12 Predictable and Avoidable Pitfalls Every Project Faces, a book growing in popularity around the world, and recently published in Japanese by Nikkei Business Press. She founded Wiefling Consulting, LLC, a global leadership and business management consulting firm, in 2001. She currently spends about half of her time working with high-potential leaders in Japanese companies as the Executive Director for ALC Education’s Global Management Consulting Group, an organization based in Tokyo, Japan. Her work includes facilitating leadership, communication, teamwork, innovation and execution excellence workshops to enable Japanese companies to solve global problems profitably.

A physicist by education, Kimberly began her professional career with 10 years at HP in product development, project management and engineering leadership. She spent five years in the wild and wacky world of Silicon Valley startups, including a Xerox Parc spinoff where she was the VP of Program Management. In 2001, she rose from the ashes of the dot-com bust, launched her consulting practice, and never looked back. In typical Silicon Valley style, Kimberly has helped to start, run and grow about a dozen small businesses. Several of the startups that she co-founded are still in business and profitable.

Kimberly's clients include companies like Cisco Systems, Symantec, Intuit, HP, Agilent Technologies, Mazda, Daiichi Sankyo, Dow Corning Toray, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the University of California, the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Siemens, Hitachi, Alcoa, Xerox PARC, NECsoft, NTT DoCoMo, and many more. Nearly 6000 people have viewed the hysterical video documenting the final phase of completing her first book. Kimberly is contributing to making the world a better place in a number of ways. She's the co-founder of the Open Kilowatt Institute (OKI) and the co-chair of the SDForum Engineering Leadership Special Interest Group (EL SIG). She's supporting micro-finance for entrepreneurs throughout the world via Kiva, and she supports the economic independence of women in various ways because she believes that this is the most effective way to raise the quality of life for all people.

Kimberly has been called a "force of nature", a label she embraces. She is obsessed with collaboration, and you can reach "her scrappiness" via email at kimberly@wiefling.com.