Unapologetically Ambitious

Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms

By: Shellye Archambeau, Ben Horowitz - introduction

Narrated by: Shellye Archambeau, Dan Triandiflou

Full of empowering wisdom from one of Silicon Valley's first female African American CEOs, this inspiring leadership book offers a blueprint for how to achieve your personal and professional goals.
Shellye Archambeau recounts how she overcame the challenges she faced as a young black woman, wife, and mother, managing her personal and professional responsibilities while climbing the ranks at IBM and subsequently in her roles as CEO. Through the busts and booms of Silicon Valley in the early 2000s, this bold and inspiring book details the risks she took and the strategies she engaged to steer her family, her career, and her company MetricStream toward success.

Through her journey, Shellye discovered that ambition alone is not enough to achieve success. Here, she shares the practical strategies, tools, and approaches readers can employ right now, including concrete steps to most effectively:

• Dismantle impostor syndrome
• Capitalize on the power of planning
• Take risks
• Developing financial literacy
• Build your network
• Establish your reputation
• Take charge of your career
• Integrate work, marriage, parenthood, and self-care

Each chapter lays out key takeaways and actions to increase the odds of achieving your personal and professional goals. With relatable personal stories that ground her advice in the real world and a foreword by leading venture capitalist and New York Times bestselling author Ben Horowitz, Unapologetically Ambitious invites readers to move beyond the solely supportive roles others expect them to fill, to learn how to carefully tread the thin line between assertive and aggressive, and to give themselves permission to strive for the top. Make no apologies for the height of your ambitions. Shellye Archambeau will show you how.

Critic reviews

"In a world that too often tells women, especially Black women, to stay small, keep quiet, and know their limits, this book says otherwise. It's a celebration of women knowing their power."—Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and founder of LeanIn.Org and OptionB.Org

"Shellye has achieved amazing success through a clear strategy of setting goals, making plans, and intelligent risk-taking. In this book, she's now sharing these strategies with us: why to set an ambitious plan and how to achieve it. Highly recommended."—Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Start-Up of You

"Shellye's life story, and the lessons it carries, are powerful examples of focus and ambition that can shape your life for the better. If your goal is just to be famous, maybe this is not the story for you, but if your goal is to be a truly great leader of men and women, you have found your guide."—Ben Horowitz, New York Times bestselling author of The Hard Thing about Hard Things

"Unapologetically Ambitious is a treasure trove of strategic wisdom and practical tips, brought to life through amazing storytelling that will leave the reader inspired, empowered and appreciative. The book deals with the realities of setbacks, trade-offs and societal norms in an authentic way, while illustrating that strength and success often lie in mindset and the team you choose in life. The closing chapter serves as a master guide to navigating life, providing a penultimate takeaway for any reader early in their journey to put the wisdom and experience of the Archambeau's lessons learned into immediate action!"—Brad D.Smith, Executive Chairman of Intuit and Nordstrom

"Through a compelling story about her own journey, Shellye offers powerful tips for how to live life courageously and go after what you want. From investing in your financial health to integrating work, marriage, parenthood and self-care--each chapter lays out actionable strategies to help you achieve your goals. A must read for anyone looking for ways to grow and live their best life."— ThasundaBrown Duckett, CEO, ChaseConsumer Banking

"A successful career in any industry is always underpinned by a few important elements: focus, risk-awareness and drive. Shellye's book Unapologetically Ambitious underscores the importance these elements can play in your career and showcases brilliant strategies and approaches through her own career pursuits. "
—John Thompson, chairman of Microsoft

Thank you!

Shelley- thank you so much for sharing your story, I listened to it while walking (of course!). My client and friend, Michael Carter recommend it to me and it really resonated- I got a lot out of it and I can't wait to share some of the lessons with my daughter. I will also definitely be recommending it to my women's networking group.

Loved her stories

I really enjoyed this book. It was very engaging given that she shared so many of her personal stories. I believe this part is what makes the book unique. All of her advise and tips for success are followed by a great story to demonstrate the tip. I highly recommend this book for inspiration and motivation to stay on course with your aspirations.

Very inspirational :)

Well written and inspirational. I’m in my 50’s, and have fallen into a routine in terms of my career. This book has now inspired me to push, and seek more before I retire! :)

Great inspirational book

Love the book. I like it on audible verses book. It was a little slow in the beginning but picked up.

Archembeau inspires

Awesomely narrated book with relevant content. As A young, ambitious, black female, this book spoke volumes to me on my journey to go from an EA to a CEO to my goal of becoming a COO