Customer Reviews

Executive EQ: Emotional Intelligence in Leadership & Organizations

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reading through this book, I found myself repeatedly saying, "yes, that's exactly how I feel", or "ha! that's the way things ought to be.". This book clearly indicates what is wrong with the work culture of today. It also explains why, despite making good money, people still feel unsatisfied or incomplete. It gives you a good understanding of how to be a more complete and honest person/employee/manager. A must read for all those who are caught up in today's "intellectual and rationality first" work culture. A must read for all those who feel they are doing good, challenging, rewarding work and yet feel an immense sense of emptiness/hopelessness. Damn good book.....!

Robert Cooper's book is heads above all the other enmotional intelligence books on the market. The others empahasize to much theory. This author is heavy on practical proven approaches that are based on people be authentic with one another and working together. Granted this book may not be for those who don't have the guts to push themelves to grow to heights not even mentioned in typical management theories. Honesty, putting the customer first, being genuinine, etc... have all but become extinct today. Robert Cooper's book issue's a challenge to all of us. To be the best means competing against your own standards so you can best serve your customers first and making a profit helps you do that better. Bravo Dr. Cooper.

Warning: This review could be biased as I reviewed the manuscript for authors before it was published. Executive EQ addresses some of the questions I had when I completed reading Goleman's book on Emotional Intelligence (EI). I learned that EI could be increased but how? What practical suggestions can I give my clients? While I love the philosophy and theory behind it, my clients who are executives in Forture 500 companies sometimes need tools and process steps. Executive EQ did address many questions about the application of EI in business and integrated it with philosophical anecdotes leaving me with deeper insights. This book also validates and legitimizes some of the practices leaders already use like use of intuition in decision making. The book is organized into four cornerstones with each section divided into very readable four chapters and each chapter flowing nicely from one to another. Overall, I am quite impressed and recommend it highly to business executives. I bought 10 copies and gave to my clients and so far every one of them liked the book! EQ Map (enclosed in the book) is an effective tool to measure where one stands and I am glad that it is not a number like IQ. I did find out that there is a more refined version of EQ is available through Q-Metrics and am looking forward to using this instrument with my clients.

I was very concerned, whether "Emotional Intelligence" can be descibed with words. Especially, when many authors tend to praise themselves and how important their subject is. However, this book is as good as it gets! Even chapters like "Intuitive Flow" are concrete and easy to understand. Furthermore, many examples and citations are taken from bussiness cases and really help to connect the topic with your working life.

Actually, I even bougth a second copy to give it to interested collegues.

One of the interesting ironies of our time is that, almost in parallel with the shift to a knowledge-based society, we are discovering to what extent our effectiveness depends not on knowledge and intellect, but on heart and feelings. The wide range of self-management and interpersonal skills identified for success in a knowledge-based environment is but another bit of indirect evidence for the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace.

Cooper and Sawaf's Executive EQ is a pioneering effort to move our understanding of emotional intelligence to the level of practical application. It provides both valuable insights and practical tools for anyone interested in exploring how individuals and organizations can develop emotional intelligence as a way to enhance success in the workplace.

Executive EQ has two outstanding features. The first is that provides an integrated framework for understanding how emotional intelligence impacts effectiveness in work and life. Executive EQ adopts a four

This should be a must-read for all people in their late 20's who are ready to take that next step into adulthood. This book taught me a lot about myself and showed me the experiences and problems I've had lately have been problems people and organizations have gone through for years. I learned to trust my intuition, go with my gut, understand my own feelings, and, most importantly, I now have a clear understanding of other people's feelings. Emotions and feelings drive the human spirit, not formulas and procedures. I had been trained that emotions were bad for decisions, but you can't make a decision without emotions. Above all else, this book shows to be successful in life, IQ is helpful, but EQ is the secret. THIS IS A MUST READ !!!!

a LOT of knowledge in this book. introspective, yet easy to read and hard to put down. can't say that about too many business books.

I was working an a project on leadership styles and wanted to better understand the topic of emotional intelligence in the management world. I would recommend the Executive EQ Emotional Intelligence in Leaderhip And Organizations as a resource for anyone who is looking at exploring this topic.

Update, 7 November 2011

Note that some resellers are jacking up the price to more than $120 for a used book, when you can purchase it for less than $11, new, directly from Amazon. If you get this outrageous $124 price showing, re-enter the title in the Amazon search box and you'll find Amazon's new copy price.

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Original Review, 24 May 2011

I conduct several different leadership courses for an agency of the Department of Defense. During each multi-day course I mention the book several times, and I give away a copy of the book because of the important information and exercises it contains.

I love the book. I have gone through several copies that I've carried with me on the road, all marked up and dog-eared. Interestingly enough, the vast majority of my course students "get it." They truly understand that emotional intelligence (EQ or Emotional Quotient) and social intelligence (SQ or Social Quotient) are woefully lacking in many leaders. And they understand that if they want to advance in their careers, EQ and SQ are key.

The book is now more than 14 years old and, while I'd love to see a revised edition with some more current stories, the material in the book is really evergreen.

As a side note, I don't know what another reviewer was talking about with their remark about the book being very academic. It's anything but. It's full of real-world stories, examples, quotes, and ideas from corporations large and small.

I just bought a new book to share with clients because my paperback is so dog-eared and marked up.

The book's Prologue is even worth revisiting, with the story of the Tibetan elder sharing his life story with the author, because it made him "real, not just a name...not just some stranger who climbed a mountain with you."

In the Introduction, the author encourages the reader to ask, "What have you been through in life? What got you here? What makes you worth knowing -- and trusting? What fires your creativity? What makes you real -- and valuable? The author links the answers to these questions (and countless other reflective questions) to how well one connects to others emotionally.

The book goes on to explore powerful components of EQ, including some of my favorites from the book:

* Emotional Honesty -- not just as a concept but as a felt sensation in the body and as a reflective practice in morning notes.

* Emotional Energy -- with calm states enhancing EQ, whil tense-energy and tense-tired states skew emotional intelligence. The author notes that most EQ theories ignore the energy-EQ connection altogether and at a big cost to applying EQ principles (as if emotions lived separately from the body!).

* Practical Intuition -- an interesting section on "unintentionally ambiguous behaviors, which next to abrasive/aggressive behaviors cause the most tension for folks, who assume the worst about incongruencies in others.

* Trust Radius -- simple exercise uses questions: "Am I one of the people you trust completely? If not, why not? And how specifically could I increase trustworthiness in your eyes? // Is this person inside my trust radius? If not, why not? etc.

* Influence without Authority -- defining influence as when you're up to what is "right and purposeful," the "necessary people and resources tend to be attracted to the cause" through resonance. When the speaker is "part of" or becomes "one with" the listener (vs. dehumanizing the enemy or opposition), influence emerges from alignment vs. authority or manipulation.

The biggest complaint? The type is very small and the pages are dense...not a fast read, but a great book with many sections worthy of revisiting!