An honest and intelligent book about deconstructing the competitive narratives of power that exist mainly in male-dominated environments. Annette’s book positions stories as tools for discernment and wisdom rather than ways of controlling, adapting, and subjugating people to the power of others.

Annette Simmons offers a thought-provoking exploration of how power is expressed depending on what underlying beliefs, values, and attitudes shape the stories we tell about power. A valuable read for all genders!

Simmons sounds a warning bell that needs to be heard in this pivotal time in human history.

Annette Simmons is one of the masters in the field of business storytelling. I have always looked to her for both wisdom and new thoughts that stretch my thinking. In her new book, Drinking From a Different Well, Women's Stories Change What Power Means in Action, I find a wellspring of both wisdom and new ways to think about power, language, storytelling, women, and our collective future.

Annette Simmons’ new book, Drinking from a Different Well: How Women’s Stories Change What Power Means in Action, is the must read book of the year. No need to read between the lines or wonder what the author is telling you – Simmons spells it out in story after story, told by women who embrace power in completely different ways than expected.

Drinking From a Different Well offers useful blueprints for any rebel seeking to redefine power so top jobs can offer the kind of power women really want: the power to do the right thing.

Through compelling stories and careful analysis, Simmons gives voice to a practical and moral approach to power. This important book inspires me to appreciate my own power and to see and cultivate power in others.

“In this time of extraordinary divisiveness, I, like so many, wonder, “How did we get here? And how do we move forward in a healthier and unifying way?” Annette Simmons offers answers to both questions by looking through the lens of how men and women differ in our definitions and lived experiences of power and powerlessness.

“Annette Simmons combines her talent as a first-rate researcher with her talent as a masterful storyteller. She celebrates gender differences instead of judging them. And typical of Simmons’ books, she doesn’t stop at just giving us provoking thoughts to ponder but provides practical ways to apply these insights to address challenges ranging from day-to-day stressors to major global issues. If you want to position yourself to move forward with new, bold, perspectives that create real change, read this book.

“Annette Simmons's new book Drinking from a Different Well demonstrates how storytelling inevitably reveals that the answers we seek are rarely found in either/or, zero sum games, but rather in ‘an endless balance between the best attributes of two sides of a paradox.’ Through the real stories of powerful women, this book illustrates that rather than replace the competitive reasoning of men, combining it with the collective narratives women tend to prioritize can chart a new path to solve the global problems we face.”

Simmons invites us to take a clear-eyed view and challenge the balance of competitive and collaborative narratives for the sake of our collective future. A must read for anyone who cares about using the power of story in a conscious and generative way.

“It’s time to change ‘business as usual.’ Simmons brings women’s studies into the business classroom. If you loved Carol Gilligan’s In a Different Voice, you’ll love Simmons’ Drinking from a Different Well.”

“The behaviors and mindsets—I’m tempted to call them male pathologies—that made workplaces hostile to women in the past are now clearly writ large on the national and world stage. Because of the domination of these games—competition, power-over, win/lose, zero sum, us vs. them, profit goals, my country first meaning my country only—we are face to face with threats to our liberty, our safety, our health, our well-being, and our very existence. We desperately need water from this other well—collaboration, emotion reasoning, power-with, moral goals—eloquently put forth in Drinking From A Different Well.