Today’s Resource Recommendation is Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman.
I really liked this book. A couple of months ago, it was recommended to me by a person I respect, so I put it in my Amazon Shopping Cart and it arrived soon
after. Since it is paperback and small, it earned a place in my briefcase for a brief trip last week.
I’m glad it did. I read all but a few pages on that trip (on a redeye flight) and finished it soon thereafter.
There are other books in this genre that tell stories based on interesting research and make interesting points as a result. Malcolm Gladwell has made a career of it, and he’s not alone —think Freakonomics — and others.
The biggest reason I am recommending this book isn’t because it is the first book in its genre or even the first that talks about some of the same issues. I’m recommending it because there is one chapter that is MUST read for leaders, and a couple others that you might consider that way too.
The chapter is called The Bipolar Epidemic and the Chameleon Effect (yes all the chapters have provocative and cool titles like this) and talks about diagnosis and how it impacts us in profound ways. Since I don’t want to give away the message, let me just say that if you apply the lessons in this chapter to your work as a leader, you will change your workplace and the effectiveness of it significantly.
There is also a chapter that talks at length about the (in)effectiveness of the traditional job interview, which was very thought-provoking for me.
Overall I found this book fascinating, fun to read and full of ideas for me both as a leader and business owner. Taken as an interesting read, the book is worth the investment; taken as an opportunity to look for real lessons and growth its worth many times its cost.
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