I didn’t expect a book about Barbie to leave me close to tears.
But Barbie and Ruth by Robin Gerber – the story of Ruth Handler, the fiercely driven co-founder of Mattel and the creator of Barbie – is perhaps the only business book where the ending felt tragically sad. Not because the business failed (it didn’t), but because of what it cost.
Handler was a pioneer. Alongside her inventive husband, she built a toy empire from scratch. They transformed seasonal toy ads into year-round marketing machines.
They championed a controversial idea: that girls wanted to play with – and become – big girls. And they invented their own metrics when none existed to prove Barbie’s success.
Ruth was visionary, strategic, relentless. She was also a mother who, by her own admission and through the lens of the author’s skepticism, neglected her children in pursuit of the business. That hit me hard.
I’d rather have smiling daughters than a swollen bank balance.
It made me reflect on the trade-offs we celebrate in entrepreneurship. Late nights. Missed birthdays. The “whatever it takes” mindset. Yes, these built empires. But they also left scars – on the founders, and the families around them. What happens to the son at the end temporarily broke my heart.
What moved me wasn’t just the innovation or ambition. It was the cost of ambition.
Barbie may have changed how children play, but behind her plastic smile was a woman who gave everything – maybe too much – to bring her to life.
💬 Some standout themes that stayed with me:
- The power of vision paired with execution.
- The magic of aligned but different partners – Ruth the hustler, Elliot the inventor.
- The cost of building something extraordinary – and the value of asking, “Is it worth it?”
This also made me appreciate the dynamic I have with my close team members Ezer, Mani and Tony. We’re different, sure, but values-aligned. And that’s the secret sauce.
📚 The author doesn’t romanticize the Handlers. She challenges their version of events. It’s what gives the book its emotional honesty.
