A Different Way of Thinking Outside the Box: A book review of The Arbinger Institute’s Leadership and Self-Deception
This is not a new book. Published in hardcover in 2000, the four pages of glowing reviews found inside the front cover, gathered from corporate heavy-hitters like Fed-Ex and anonymous readers from across North America, give a sense that the book has been around long enough to gain quite a following. The concept of self-deception is also not new. “Know Thyself” was inscribed over the entrance to the Oracle at Delphi. More recently, the psychoanalytic theory of Freud and co. could be described as the study of the many ways humans lie to themselves. In fact, the concepts explored in Leadership and Self-Deception are the Arbinger Institute’s take on the psychoanalytic concept of ‘resistance’ as applied to the world of business.
The book is engagingly written, following the popular business book format of the likeable but imperfect main character who learns a life-altering lesson from a selection of gentle and inspiring gurus. At 168 pages, it’s a quick read. The concepts are clearly presented, the dialogue believable, and the take-away lesson profound. (more…)
