Anthony Rose, a international leader in corporate affairs and influencer marketing, wrote an important and inspiring book, BREAK THE CEILING, TOUCH THE SKY: Success Secrets of the World’s Most Inspirational Women and I have selected it to be my first post of 2015.
What makes this book special?
BREAK THE CEILING, TOUCH THE SKY 
is more than just stories about 43 successful women and their phenomenal accomplishments. Among the notables included in the book are: Dominique Reiniche, former chairman, Europe, The Coca Cola Company; Laura Desmond, Global CEO, Starcom MediaVest Group; Gail Klintworth, Chief Sustainability Officer, Unilever PLC; and Christine Tan, Anchor, CNBC Asia Pacific. Anthony shares an in-depth glimpse into their personal existence and professional challenges and offers the reader access to lessons learned and realistic tips for achievement that are applicable, realistic and most definitely proven – as evidenced by the successes attained by the women interviewed.
Anthony is my friend!
In the spirit of full disclosure and because I am very proud to share my connection: Anthony and I were colleagues at the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) in the Public Affairs Department. He has since lead corporate affairs function for Walmart Asia and has had global leadership responsibilities at other major companies including GlaxoSmithKline. While we never worked together on a project at P&G, we had similar jobs for different business areas. I always enjoyed my interactions with Anthony, as he is a genuine spirit of warmth, who appreciated interpersonal relationships, as well as the importance of developing communication strategies and accomplishing results for billion dollar business areas.
Knowing Anthony, I was not surprised that he dedicated BREAK THE CEILING, TOUCH THE SKY to his mother, the late Leonie Rose who, he says, taught him some of the best life lessons by being tough, yet gentle and by showing him the importance of grit, patience and generosity.
The importance of work/life balance.
One of the women highlighted in the book is Deb Henretta who is currently leading P&G’s global beauty care businesses which include: Olay, Covergirl, Gucci and Wella. She has also been listed seven years consecutively in Fortune’s most powerful women lists. Through Anthony, we experience Deb as a mother, a woman and a P&G business executive. While I knew Deb from her earlier Pampers’ Marketing Director days, my brief interactions didn’t allow me to know her personally.
After reading chapter 4 titled “Master the Art of Balance”, where Deb’s story is told, I wish I would’ve had the opportunity to interact with her more. In the chapter, Deb is quoted as saying: “Get to know life”. And she does. This is what Deb offers:
- See balance as multidimensional
- Prioritize
- Set aside a few minutes of the day just for yourself
- Be willing to compromise
- Leverage your uniquely female traits of passion and commitment
Also in the chapter, Anthony brings in Dr. Barbara McFarland, a well-respected clinical psychologist who “literally wrote the book on balance”. Dr. McFarland is an author of seven books, corporate consultant, trainer, media guest and motivational speaker. She shares her personal story, along with the habits she practices, that bring her life balance. This is just one example of the rich content that can be found in the book.
Be advised, this book will overwhelm you in the most positive way with stories from some of the world’s most influential women. Their accounts and lessons are organized in action orientated, solution packed chapters such as: “Think Big, Take Responsibility For Your Own Success. Speak up”, “Focus on the Positive. Never give up”, “Deliver results”, “Give and take support”, “Network”, “Learn how to influence”, and much more.
Generous donations benefit women’s health.
It is a purposeful decision of mine to write this review, as my first post for 2015. I am hopeful that I can encourage the purchase of this book as a gift or a self-purchase. Why? Along with the must-have information for any woman trying to succeed in today’s beyond challenging professional environment, Anthony has chosen to give 100 percent of the royalties from BREAK THE CEILING. TOUCH THE SKY to the non-profit organization Save the Children. The proceeds are funding the prevention of maternal anemia across 150 villages in India, impacting over 20,000 women.
To date, his contributions from the royalties exceed $15,000 U.S. dollars. This generous gesture exemplifies the spirit I want to begin 2015 with. Leonie Rose would be extremely proud of the sweet, successful and giving man her son has become.
** BREAK THE CEILING. TOUCH THE SKY it is not yet available in the United States, if I get more than 10 orders, I can purchase them in bulk myself and have it sent on to you. So if you are interested in purchasing it, please email me at elaineplum@aol.com and place ‘Break the Ceiling’ in the subject line.
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Below The Salt News Archive 
This book sounds fascinating! Count me in on the book order!
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Thank you Linda. It was certainly inspiring, with lots of helpful information. Only wish Anthony had written it 30 years ago.
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Hello there, Elaine and Linda! Elaine, I would also like to read this book and am requesting a copy. I have reservations about the gist of it, though. Although I can tell the stories will be inspirational and there will be many things learned, I am a bit leery of presenting female corporate success as a result of excellent working habits, talents and abilities. Many, many women in the corporate world have such outstanding habits and talents. They are not able to rise to the topmost tiers, however, due more to outside restrictions, than self-limiting character traits. At any rate, this is a topic which has drawn my interest for many years. Thank you so much for the heads up about not only the book, but the order you are placing. Count me in, as well! Much Love to both of you, Fondly, Robin
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Hi Robin: excellent point and I totally agree. There were many inspiring women I had the honor to work who exemplified many of the habits and life philosophies shared in the book. Female CEOs aren’t the only talented members of the team. However, their rank adds credibility to their stories. So far two book orders! Anthony will be pleased, but I still need 8 more for shipment to happen.
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Hey Robin!
So good to “see” you! I agree, there is always a bit of being fortunes child in getting to the top. But maybe without the right habits and attitudes, the opportunities would never arise or be taken?
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