Author

Chade-Meng Tan, Daniel Goleman, Jon Kabat-Zinn

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5
Average: 5 (2 votes)

This review was submitted by Jose_Ramon.

This book has many great advices and has more than three actionable things. It is made by en Engineer and covers not just how to be better in job but in life. Also talks aboout One-on-Ones, Feedback, and other topics that Manager Tools has been telling us since almost 10 years. 

It is easy to read, to understand and to apply.

 

Comments

sooraj.kamath's picture

One of the best books I have ever come across on personal management at a physiological level using Mindfulness based emotional intelligence.

Chade-Meng Tan has combined science, profession and humor in a way that makes reading very pleasant. And most aspects of Mindfulness in this book can be practiced in daily life effortlessly as long as we consciously spare time.

When we talk of leadership and personal development, we mostly talk of behaviors and skills. For example, we say, when someone shouts at you, do not react. The skill not to react lies within all of us. It simply requires us to do nothing. But when faced with the conflict situation we react to it even before we realize. The moment passes by and we are left to regret our reaction.

The biggest challenge to applying soft skills is managing our personal self awareness at times of stress. Instead of feeling the emotion and letting it go, we become the emotion and allow it to rule our body. And this is exactly where Mindfulness comes in. Through a series of techniques aimed at developing self-awareness, self-confidence, empathy and compassion, Mindfulness helps us develop emotional intelligence that serves as the root of all soft skills.

Some examples: Manager Tools advises us never to guess the intent of another person and to only respond to behavior. The same concept is beautifully explained in Search Inside Yourself at a physiological level as follows: When the brain misses certain information about the actions of other people, for example the intent of a person, the brain makes up its own assumption, believes it to be true and most of the time this assumption is negative.

Another example: In Getting Things done, David Allen recommends capturing our list of pressing activities in our brain into a system we trust. Search Inside Yourself talks of the same concept using a technique called Journaling. Furthermore, both books talk of the "zone" or the "mind like water" concepts required for high levels of personal productivity.

To summarize my experience with this book, I used to read 2-3 pages of SIY first thing in the morning and the pleasantness I felt reading the book would ensure I remained pleasant throughout the day and the skills gained from this book go a long way in making me a better and more emotionally intelligent person.

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