Braddy Reads Leadership and Self-Deception

I'm not really much for business/self-help books, but I read this one after a friend recommended it... mainly to the absurd number of leadership positions I had come down with (I got better).

The Arbinger Institute's Leadership and Self-Deception discusses how people tend to let their inflated egos get in the way of accurately assessing and responding to the needs of others. Mainly, the Arbinger Institute seems concerned with how this self-deception (which they describe as being "in the box") inhibits productivity at work; however, they DO detail why this attitude can be damaging to home life.

Basically, being "in the box" means adopting an attitude that reduces other people to objects or obstacles. Someone in the box can't acknowledge the needs of others because he or she is too caught up in their own selfish needs while actually condemning others for being selfish themselves. It's an important point, and most people (myself included) could benefit from looking into their self-deception.

However, the book seems to be more concerned with advertising the Arbinger Institute's program. The business slant is evident right up to the use of near-meaningless slogans like being "in the box." Reading the book felt a bit like living inside a Dilbert strip. You could probably get a bit more of the personal touch reading something mean for an individual, like the Alcoholics Anonymous handbook.

Not that I've actually had any reason to read Alcoholics Anonymous... ahem...