Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual – Luvvie Ajayi Jones

It became clear about a quarter of the way through “Professional Troublemaker” that I — as a mostly non-marginalized individual — was not the target audience for Luvvie Ajayi Jones’ personal development pronouncements.

Still, I was charmed by her candor, humor and advice throughout, which elevated this above most business-focused books I’ve read in the past several years. There was an accessibility, urgency and practicality to the topics she covers that will likely age well.

While the core messages were sometimes overshadowed by a digression into her own experiences (aka borderline champagne problems), I walked away with several opportunities for improvement, both personally and professionally.

I had never heard of Jones prior to this book being selected as a work-sponsored book club pick, so I was pleased by her frequent f-bombs and pop culture shout-outs seamlessly mixed into discussions about microaggressions, corporate culture and self-sabotage.

Even though much of the advice centers on empowering women — especially minority women — to not be afraid to be disruptors and break through self-imposed barriers, every single person that reads this will find universal truths and opportunities to advocate for yourself, but most importantly, others. If you don’t, then you might be the reason a book like this needs to exist.

Broken into three sections — BE (know yourself); SAY (express yourself); and DO (allow yourself to make it happen) — Jones gives the reader permission to be their authentic self while acknowledging the limitations the world frequently imposes on non-white, non-male individuals.

She also frequently weaved in sidebars about her grandmother, Olúfúnmiláyò Juliana Fáloyin, the professional troublemaker that inspired and empowered her. It brought a level of humanity and connection to the book I wasn’t expecting but enjoyed.

I’m going to challenge my fellow white men to read this book, over the next “it” topic by Malcom Gladwell, Simon Sinek or Mark Manson, because you will learn something here that will truly make you a better colleague. In the age of the Great Resignation, that’s more important than the bottom line.

Rating (story): 4/5 stars

Rating (narration): 3/5 stars

Formats: Hybrid read/listen: hardcover (personal library); audiobook (library loan)

Dates read: January 5 – January 11, 2022

Multi-tasking: Good to go, but by listening it is more difficult to separate her personal anecdotes from advice.