by Gary Gemmill George Kraus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 25, 2010
A beautifully rendered, well-organized and supremely effective guide, full of insights for the ages.
Self-help for the wounded soul is reflected by the cosmic mirror.
The work of authors Gemmill and Kraus suggests that our life experiences are a valuable reporting mechanism, a tool by which one may confront personal issues: “The core idea of the cosmic mirror is that we unknowingly populate the world around us with our denied inner attributes and struggles.” Petty squabbles, emotionalism and intense dislike of others offer vital clues to unresolved material in the shadow and aura. The shadow is the dark side of the self, a repository of denied urges and feelings, while the aura holds unexpressed talents and qualities. Whatever is repressed is projected onto others. We may react with hypercriticism or blind devotion, yet the enemy and the hero within us require acknowledgment and expression for full realization of the self, according to Gemmill and Kraus. Outing the shadow and aura can lead to a healthier, more expansive and less polarized view. Denial can lead to downfall, as in the case of Eliot Spitzer, whose “illicit behavior was not unlike the crimes of those he prosecuted when he was the New York State Attorney General.” In addition to enhancing self-understanding, the principles presented by the authors can be applied to relations with parents, coworkers and significant others, as well as our perceptions of those in the public eye, be they politicians, athletes, government officials, royalty or celebrities. The authors masterfully develop their thesis and thoroughly support it with personal stories of workshop participants, the writings of poets and philosophers, Native American wisdom, Japanese folklore, pop culture and the seminal work of Carl Jung. Illustrations, diagrams and a glossary facilitate understanding of psychological terms and concepts. Numerous practical and perceptual exercises aid in revealing the inner you. To thine own self be true, thanks to the cosmic mirror.
A beautifully rendered, well-organized and supremely effective guide, full of insights for the ages.Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-1452032832
Page Count: 353
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Daniel Kahneman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2011
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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BOOK REVIEW
by Erin Meyer ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 27, 2014
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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