EQ - the difference between success and the deadend

I started this book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshal Goldsmith with the full expectation of not to like it.  I figured it would be one more book which touted the top 7 (or 5 or 9 or 13, etc) things anyone can do to get to the next level.

Although I'm only a little over halfway through the book, I was pleasantly surprised to find that instead of touting a miracle approach to success it focuses on the fundamental aspect of true success which is often overlooked.  The term "emotional intelligence," is not used, or used so sparingly that I've missed it, but that is what this book is about.  How to increase the awareness of our shortfalls in the area of emotional intelligence, and some suggestions about how to address them.  I've already picked up some valuable nuggets!   

 

I will summarize the book in a later post but I thought this might be a good place to list a few other books dealing with this subject which everyone, anyone, who hopes to make it to an upper level of management should read AND incorporate into their life:

• How to Win Friends and Manage People, by Dale Carnegie
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey
• Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee
• Executive EQ:Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Organizations by Robert Cooper and Ayman Sawaf
• The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys ot Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life's Hurdles, by Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatte
• Becoming a Resonant Leader: Develop your Emotional Intelligence, Renew your Relationships, Sustain your Effectiveness, by Annie McKee, Richard Boyatzis, and Frances Johnson
• Relational Intelligence:  How Leaders Can Expand Their Influence Through a New Way of Being Smart, by Richard Saccone.
• The Bible

And this is by no means a complete list, just what I have on my shelf that is specific to this topic.  Many other leadership books have sections devoted to this topic precisely because it is so fundamental to success.   If you have any desire to be better and more effective in EVERY part of your life, get one of these books and begin the journey!