Egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Asset (or Most Expensive Liability)

A reviewer

People with unbridled egos see themselves as the suns in their individual universes, and believe that all important activity and thought revolve around them. ¿We would rather speak ill of ourselves than not talk of ourselves at all,¿ observed the worldly wise French nobleman François de La Rochefoucauld 300 years ago. His aphorism is still relevant. In business as in life, unchecked ego sabotages the achievement of important goals. Employees resent and oppose narcissistic executives, regardless of the value of their ideas or the quality of their leadership. However, the brutally competitive business world can also swallow timid, self-effacing souls alive. The best leaders have neither too much nor too little ego. David Marcum and Steven Smith explain how to find the right balance. They offer distressing examples of ego run amok while also providing practical demonstrations of how a healthy dose of ego can be your best ally. We recommend this book to managers who wonder why the rest of the world has so far failed to recognize their greatness, to high achievers who think they may need a reality check and to human-resource professionals, who often have to clean up the messes that egotistical executives leave behind them.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

what makes ego work @ work

When I read this book I had two thoughts: 1' as the leader of my company, why haven't I looked more closely, until now, at my own ego, and 2' why is it that, as the authors ask in the book, we get so protective of our egos when the topic surfaces? What are we afraid of? It's soon clear in the book that the authors have no interest in removing ego from anyone or anywhere, especially business just better management of it. I think readers will find very individual answers in this work. It became clear to me the further I read that the 'answers' in this book have as much to do with self-reflection and a precise self-awareness as they do for the methodologies of communication and teamwork that they write about. In terms of that awareness, for me at least, it's difficult to let go of what's worked in the past to try something new, and the authors are clearly asking us to consider a different way to work. Not unimaginable, but certainly a different 'level.' The three principles they focus their work on--humility, curiosity, and veracity--seemed a very solid balance to the 'power of ego.' The four early warning signs of mismanaged ego outline why ego gets the best of us at times. I expected a more pure psychological read, and instead found myself comparing their writing along the lines of investigative business journalists rather than psychologists. If you're interested in the purely academic/Freudian side of ego, this isn't for you. I don't think the authors intended it for that. The book is very much focused on the workplace. But if you're looking for more of a 'Blink' or 'Wisdom of Crowds' POV, then this book is terrific.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Disappointing - feels like a business school seminar

Not what I was hoping for, more a collection of the same prescriptions handed out in every business book. For a book called Egonomics, with a sub-title intimating the positive aspects of using ego, the book has absolutely nothing on how to use ego effectively for the less assertive. That would make for a worthwhile book - wait for it rather than buy this.

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