W.I.N. Newsletter Special - Book Recommendations
Published: Tue, 04/10/12
This week I am sharing two book recommendations for you which were sent in to me by Tom McMahon a friend, warrior scholar and newsletter subscriber.
Working With You Is Killing Me: Freeing Yourself From Emotional Traps at Work" by Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster.
The book is authored by a business consultant and psychotherapist who team up to "provide pragmatic and insightful ways to free yourself from workplace woes by taking control of your own response". The book "offers self awareness quizzes, case studies and field tested examples on how to deal with angry bosses, workplace saboteurs and difficult or boundary testing coworkers". It was very easy to read and the book does a good job of exploring ones own role in these situations. I would recommend it to anyone dealing with workplace concerns.
Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts" by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson.
It was excellent. They examine the role that dissonance theory and self-justification play in a whole series of behaviors/events. There were several times where I thought of W.I.N. and how critical that concept is when viewed with the following quote in mind: "How do you get an honest man to lose his ethical compass? You get him to take one step at a time, and self-justification will do the rest". The book is riddled with examples where very public figures were confronted with their poor behavior but unsuccessfully attempted to defend their actions using self-justification. It is easy to see how they got there "one step at a time" and how they were able to justify it to themselves. The book also examines stereotypes and explains our very human tendency to use them as a mental convenience so as to avoid the more difficult critical thinking. The authors also do an excellent job in exploring the role of memory and how unreliable it can be with false memories, misremembering and source confusion. The authors go on to examine dissonance theory and the role of self-justification in marriage and international relations using the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Cuban Missile Crisis and others. Although the book deals with psychological theories, memory and other concepts, the authors do an amazing job of keeping the material very accessible and entertaining. It was difficult to put down and a worthwhile read. I highly recommend it because the authors deliver on their promise contained within the book title.
Oh yeah, I came across a quote from Stephen Covey that slapped me upside the head and I think it's worthwhile to share and for folks to reflect upon. "The person who doesn't read is no better off than the person who can't read." - Stephen Covey. So true......
Thanks Tom.
I will have a couple of other recommendations next week of books I just finished on the last couple of road trips.
Take care.
Brian Willis
www.winningmindtraining.com
www.warriorspiritbooks.com
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