Susan Horowitz CainWomen Transforming Our Communities and the World
Harvard Law School "Leaders for Change" (conference Program of Events), Sept. 27–29, 2013, bottom of p. 13. (born 1968) is an American writer and lecturer. She is the author of the 2012 non-fiction book '' Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking'', which argues that modern

Western culture Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...

misunderstands and undervalues the traits and capabilities of introverted people. In 2015, she co-founded

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution () was a period of socio-political and socio-cultural transformation in French Canada, particularly in Quebec, following the 1960 Quebec general election. This period was marked by the secularization of the government, the ...

, a mission-based company with initiatives in the areas of children (parenting and education), lifestyle, and the workplace. Her 2016 follow-on book, '' Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts'', focused on introverted children and teens, the book also being directed to their educators and parents. Her book '' Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole'' (2022) focused on accepting feelings of sorrow and longing as inspiration to experience sublime emotions—such as beauty and wonder and transcendence—to counterbalance the "normative sunshine" of society's pressure to constantly be positive.

Early life and education

Cain is the youngest of three children, and was raised in

Lawrence, Nassau County, New York Lawrence is a village in Nassau County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 6,483. The Village of Lawrence is in the southwestern corner of the Town of Hempstead, adjoining the border wit ...

. She graduated with an A.B. in English from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1989 after completing a 91-page-long senior thesis titled "A Study of Thomas Stearns Eliot and

Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''Blast (British magazine), Blast'', the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His ...

." She earned a J.D. degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1993.

Career

Cain worked for seven years as an attorney at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, and then as a negotiations consultant as owner and principal of The Negotiation Company. She has been a fellow and a faculty/staff member of the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, an educational non-profit organization. She left her careers in corporate law and consulting for a quieter life of writing at home with her family, likening her years as a Wall Street lawyer to "time spent in a foreign country".

Background and motivation for ''Quiet''

Cain explained that if she were not a writer she would want to be a research psychologist. Her interest in writing about introversion reportedly stemmed from her own difficulties with public speaking, which made Harvard Law School "a trial". While still an attorney, Cain noticed that others at her firm were putting personality traits like hers to good use in the profession, and that gender ''per se'' did not explain those traits. She eventually realized that the concepts of introversion and extroversion provided the "language for talking about questions of identity" that had been lacking. She explained that in writing ''Quiet'' she was fueled by the passion and indignation that she imagined fueled the 1963 feminist book, '' The Feminine Mystique''. She likened introverts today to women at that time—second-class citizens with gigantic amounts of untapped talent. Saying that most introverts aren't aware of how they are constantly spending their time in ways that they would prefer not to be and have been doing so all their lives, Cain explained that she was trying to give people entitlement in their own minds to be who they are. She said she was interested in working with parents and teachers of introverted children and to re-shape workplace culture and design, and in particular replace what she terms "The ''New''

Groupthink Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Cohesiveness, or the desire for cohesivenes ...

" with an environment more conducive to deep thought and solo reflection.

''Quiet, Quiet Power,'' and ''Quiet Journal''

Cain, a self-described introvert, had grappled with her own introversion as a Wall Street attorney before writing '' Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking''. In contrast, she described the time of creating ''Quiet''—seven years of reading, researching, and thinking—as "total bliss". Initially concerned that the book would be merely a "highly idiosyncratic project", she found instead that New York book publishers engaged in a bidding war. ''Quiet'' was published January 24, 2012. Cain wrote that her year of preparation before her February 2012 TED talk had unfolded in "three stages of accelerating dread", so she joined Toastmasters and scheduled a two-hour crash course with TED's speaking coach. But saying her butterflies had turned into "gut-wrenching knots", she worked for six full days with an acting coach immediately before the talk. Three months after the talk, Cain confirmed her April 2011 prediction that the ensuing year would be her Year of Speaking Dangerously, writing that she had metamorphosed into what she termed an "impossibly oxymoronic creature: the Public Introvert". ''

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's'' Megan Garber remarked that the ideas spread by TED are becoming defined by the

persona A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...

of the speaker who presents them, citing Cain in particular as representing the idea of the power of introversion in an extrovert-optimized world. Chris Weller quipped in ''Business Insider'' that Cain had become "the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of introverts". Within one week of its publication, ''

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' '' Jenna Goudreau noted that ''Quiet'' was featured by several major media outlets and was shared extensively across the Web, Goudreau observing that readers said they felt validated and seen for the first time. Cain spoke at leadership, management, training and education conferences throughout the U.S. and internationally. By 2015 she had delivered more than 100 speeches, sometimes receiving five figures per appearance, in addition to her ''

pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...

'' work. ''

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's'' Debra Donston-Miller had noted that the idea of introversion and extroversion was being widely discussed due in large part to media coverage of ''Quiet''. Within a year of her first TED talk, Cain had formed an online public speaking and communication class for introverts, said to emphasize authenticity over showmanship. She collaborates with Steelcase to design office spaces to include quiet areas where workers can have privacy for a time, in contrast to open plan offices. In 2016, Cain co-authored '' Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts'', which focused on introverted children and teens, the book also directed to their educators and parents. In 2018, she began co- curating the Next Big Idea Club with

Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born 3 September 1963) is a Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1996. He has published eight books. He is also the host of the podcast ''Revisionist ...

, Adam Grant, and Daniel H. Pink, focusing on books about psychology, business, happiness, and productivity. On March 31, 2020, Cain published ''Quiet Journal: Discover Your Secret Strengths and Unleash Your Inner Power,'' a journal with a first section directed to self-assessment, and a second section for applying that self-knowledge and prompting action.

The Quiet Revolution

Cain's second TED talk (2014) formally announced the Quiet Revolution—a "venture backed, mission-based" organization for transforming office architecture to combat the erosion of focus and privacy in modern offices, forming a Quiet Leadership Institute to help organizations train introverted leaders, and empowering quiet children. The organization focuses on areas including children, life, and the workplace, while providing training programs and learning tools for client organizations to use in managing employees. More specifically, the organization formed an online education course for parents, a co-branded lifestyle section in ''

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'', a podcast, a website to support a community including writers and advocates, and young-adult books and shows whose heroines are quiet leaders. Quiet Revolution implemented a Quiet Ambassador initiative, for which it trained volunteers to be embedded in schools, businesses and other participating organizations.

''Bittersweet''

Cain's third TED talk (2019), "The hidden power of sad songs and rainy days", preceded her April 5, 2022 book, '' Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole''. The book's theme is to accept feelings of sorrow and longing as inspiration to experience sublime emotions—such as beauty and wonder and transcendence—to counterbalance the "normative sunshine" of society's pressure to constantly be positive.

Awards and achievements

* 2012, February: '' Quiet'' reached No. 4 on ''

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'' Best Seller list (hardcover non-fiction category). * 2012: Cain's first TED talk video received its first million views faster than any other TED video, and within nine months had entered the 98th percentile (20th of 1380 videos) of most viewed TED videos of all time. * 2012, July: Nathan Heller's Culture Desk piece in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' listed Cain's talk among five key TED Talks exemplifying the appeal of that lecture series, citing her presentation of a counterintuitive data-based argument as a miniature theatre piece. * 2012, November: Cain was featured in the PBS-AOL '' Makers'' video initiative for recognizing trailblazing women. * 2012, December: ''Quiet'' was named in numerous "Best of 2012" book lists. * 2012, December: Cain was named one of five top Princeton alumni newsmakers for 2012. * 2013, February: ''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a not-for-profit, independent corporation that is an affiliate of Harvard Business School. ''HBR'' is published six times a year ...

's'' Mitch Joel listed Cain's TED Talk among "10 TED Talks to Help You Reimagine Your Business". * 2013, April:

Toastmasters International Toastmasters International (TI) is a US-headquartered nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping people develop communication, public speaking, and leadership skills. History On 24 March 1905, Dr ...

named Cain recipient of its 2013 "Golden Gavel Award", given annually to an individual distinguished in the fields of communication and leadership. * 2013, September: Cain received Harvard Law School's "Celebration 60" Award. * 2014, March: Cain was one of the "TED All-Stars", with Cain presenting for a second time at TED's thirtieth anniversary conference. * 2014, May: Cain was listed in '' Inc.'' magazine as being among the 50 most influential leadership and management experts. * 2015, ''Quiet'' had sold more than two million copies worldwide * 2016, May: '' Quiet Power'' started at #4 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list (children's middle grade hardcover category). * 2018, November: Cain was included in

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented Social networking service, social network. It was launched on May 5, 2003 by Reid Hoffman and Eric Ly. Since December 2016, LinkedIn has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. ...

's 20 "Top Voices" of 2018, a list of "

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driving global business conversation". * 2022, April: ''The New York Times'' listed '' Bittersweet'' as #1 bestseller in both "Hardcover Nonfiction" and "Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction" categories. * 2023, February:

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

selected ''Bittersweet'' as her 99th Oprah's Book Club pick. * 2024, January: "A Quiet Life in 7 Steps" was #5, then #3, audiobook on Amazon Audible.

Selected work

"Quiet: The Power of Introverts / How to thrive in a world that can't stop talking"
''

Psychology Today ''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on psychology and human behavior. The publication began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The print magazine's reported circulation is 275,000 as of 2023. ...

'',
archive
of list having links to blog series).

, Opinion section of ''

'', January 13, 2012; appearing in print January 15, 2012.
"Don't Call Introverted Children 'Shy' "archive
, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' Psychology section, January 26, 2012.
"Secrets of a Super Successful Introvert: How to (Quietly) Get Your Way"

archive
, '' O: The Oprah Magazine'', February 2012.
"Introverts run the world – quietly"archive
,

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.com, March 18, 2012.
Essay: "An Introvert Steps Out"
, "Sunday Book Review" section of ''

'', published online April 27, 2012. Version appeared in print on page BR27 of the "Sunday Book Review" on April 29, 2012.