The Third Shift
Managing Hard Choices in Our Careers, Homes, and Lives as Women

Today's women work not one but three shifts: the first from nine to five, the second at home, and the third in their minds as they review the decisions and actions of the day. While the first and second shifts may be physically exhausting, the third shift can be psychologically rending because many women use it to second-guess their motives, doubt their choices, and question their trade-offs. Michele Bolton shows women how to turn the third shift into a source of self-awareness and self-confidence instead. Drawing from a three-year study of women in Silicon Valley and her own experiences as a working mother, Bolton explores the three most important dilemmas all women face, whether they're corporate executives, entrepreneurs, or full-time moms. She then presents women with a practical plan for facing these dilemmas, making the hard choices, and embracing their decisions.

Introduction: Managing the Third Shift: Choices and Challenges for Women.

THE IDENTIFYING CHALLENGE: WHO ARE WE.

The Myth of Androgyny: Who Are We Supposed to Be?

Gender at Work: When Does It Matter?

A Business of One's Own: Who are We When We We're on Our Own?

From High-Rise to Hearth and Home: How Do We Thrive?

THE TASK CHALLENGE: WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

Management 101 for Women: Doing What Matters.

Women Entrepreneurs: Balancing Logic and Emotion.

Women at Home: Understanding the Job Description.

THE BALANCE CHALLENGE: WHO COMES FIRST?

The Crux of the Matter: Defining Personal Achievement.

MICHELE KREMEN BOLTON is a principal partner and an experienced executive coach with ExecutivEdge of Silicon Valley, an executive development firm in Los Gatos, California. She has consulted to organizations such as Applied Materials, Compaq, The Gap, Hewlett-Packard, Intuit, Nike, Sun Microsystems, and 3-Com. Bolton is a former professor of management at the College of Business at San Jose State University, where she was the co-founder and first executive director of the Center to Develop Women Entrepreneurs.