Read: 11/23/2010
ISBN: 1416533273
Recommended? Abso-freaking-lutely. Buy this thing. One downside: this book uses a ton of “business-speak”. That said, the ideas are really good, and it’s not hard to get past the writing style.

• Ego can play a huge role in how successful we are. It’s the one asset (or liability) that’s hard to quantify, but makes the biggest impact.
• Warning signs that ego is getting in the way and resulting in lost income and/or opportunities:
  1. Being Comparative. Competition is good: it can push us to new heights and achievements. We compete unconsciously, which is why it’s hard to tell when it goes wrong. The danger is that we begin competing only to compete and beat the next guy rather than trying to improve ourselves.
  2. Being Defensive. We often fall victim to loss aversion with our ideas. We want what we came up with to win because it hurts to loose something. It’s possible to switch from defending an idea based on it merits to defending an idea/action only because it’s ours.
  3. Showcasing Brilliance. This is easy to spot from the other side, but people doing it rarely notice. The more we expect people to be amazed by our brilliance and abilities, the less they are; the more we act brilliant, the less time we have to actually do the work.
  4. Seeking Acceptance. Same as Jr. High. We’re prone to change ourselves for acceptance.
• Having too much ego is a bad thing, but so is having too little.
• Battle excessive or destructive ego (see warning signs) with…
  1. Humility
     • Humility encourages…
       1. Devotion to progress
       2. Acknowledgment of the duality of achievement and still having work to do.
       3. Constructive discontent.
     • Humility doesn’t mean meek or without ego. In fact, it’s possible to maintain intense, vigorous discussion without shifting into dangerous ego territory (see warning signs above). Staying humble means separating ideas from identity. When someone insults your ideas or choices, they are not insulting you or your core values.
  2. Curiosity helps us find out whether or not our ideas or theories hold water. Curiosity can be stimulated by more carefully defining ideas/theories, looking at the context for those ideas, challenging assumptions, and looking at the ultimate consequences of what we put on the table.
  3. Veracity is the pursuit of truth — more accurately, the pursuit of a clear vision of reality. What is actually happening vs. what we believe is happening. This means having the courage to ask others and listen, and create a culture where people feel safe being completely candid.
• Unconditional positive regard can open a ton of doors.