I've read John Gray's Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus and feel that he was fairly correct about how men and women communicate. Work with Me picks up how the communicate in the work force and how it could and has created problems. What I liked was that it also included a scientific look at how men and women's brains were developed differently and how this might attribute to the differences in communication. I also like how the authors included examples of how to be more gender aware of how they speak to one another. Overall, a fairly interesting insight to men and women and how they communicate with each other. ( )

I had great expectations of this book. I have studied gender bias and differences periodically since around 1982 in undergraduate school. I was looking forward to new dynamic information. I'm sure this book contains new exciting material to any person with no background knowledge on gender bias. The book does focus on the differences between how males and females act, interact and make decisions in the business world. It provides suggestions on how to make the corporate world more gender friendly. The book moved incredibly slow for me, which is why it took so long to post a review. Strongly recommended to managers who want their company to receive the best from female employees and keep them on the payroll. Women have suffered in the past because of their gender. Now they will move on to a new employer who is vested in positive use of all employees and building the best teams available ( )

I have read none of the mars/venus books that John Gray is known for, and I think I never will. I could not finish this book. 'The Science Side' sections contained vague and fuzzy science. The book is repetitive and relies on cliche, and seems to think it's okay that men hear 'no' as 'not yet' - nothing a like a little rape culture justification as part of teaching women to be 'gender intelligent' No thank you. Yes, men and women need to communicate effectively with each other in order to advance in the world of work, but this book does little more than pander to stereotype.

Work with Me: The 8 Blind Spots Between Men and Women in Business is co-authored by gender specialist John Gray and Barbara Annis. The pair attempt to break down the differences between men and women in the workplace, which it does to some degree. The 8 “blind spots” are clearly spelled out with methods to improve working environments. However explanations are at times repetitive and labeled too generally as when the “The Science Side” explanation is given. The text is “ok,” but I work in an environment where the majority of the supervisors are women, so I found many of the examples un-relatable for me personally. Three stars. ( )

Work with Me by Barbara Annis and John Gray is an acceptable effort on how the genders can better understand each other in the workplace. I found some helpful insights here, but overall this book addresses a problem which is really a symptom of a larger problem—that the working world has been run by men for so long that a full integration of women into positions of influence is still in transition. We're making rapid progress, but unfortunately this may take generations to accomplish well. The dilemma of "the world of work being created by men for men" is addressed but then there's too little discussion on the long-term realities.

The women in Annis' book are smart and hardworking though I can see why their efforts are frustrated. The men they work with, and often for, are not good examples of men. Excelling at negotiating and closing deals may cause your star to rise, but I'd grade these men a D+ for social intelligence. Annis uses the term gender intelligence, but it's broader than that.

There's also the type of work considered. I read example after example from law firms, financial enterprises, engineering corporations, etc., with the focus being on the sales, managerial and executive teams. These are stereotypical Type A, Alpha Male positions so of course you'll find these situations the most contentious.

Women making advances in typically male-dominated industries are pioneers for sure. Their gains benefit all of humanity. Teaching men who are used to traditional gender roles to go against a lifetime of upbringing is an honorable effort, but may not be worth it. You'd have better success educating their children. ( )