The Inner Edge : Effective Spirituality in Your Life and Work [Hardcover]

Richard A. Wedemeyer (Author), Ronald W. Jue (Author), Dalai Lama (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2002

Finding fulfillment and balance in life and work is an increasingly common goal of business people today. Given that the long implicit contract of mutual loyalty between employer and employee is no more, is it any wonder that workers have been left with a great hunger to find significance in what they do and are turning to both traditional and non-tradition "spiritual" practices to find their higher purpose? According to a recent Business Week article, "...a spiritual revival is sweeping across Corporate America as executives of all stripes are mixing mysticism into their management, importing into office corridors the lessons usually doled out in churches, temples and mosques." The Inner Edge reflects authors Ron Jue's and Richard Wedemeyer's practical approach to this yearning to find meaning amid the tough realities of the workplace. Their down-to-earth, effective program called Pragmatic Spirituality shows readers how to find spiritual fulfillment and balance in life and work minus any religious overtones. Drawn from numerous Eastern philosophies, the tenets of transpersonal psychology, and the authors' years of success as executive coaches and counselors, the Pragmatic Spirituality program is based upon two key components: Identity (a clarity about "Who I Am") and Integrity (How can I best allocate my time and energies among the various factors in my life to achieve balance?). Cueing the reader to draw upon his/her inner wisdom, the authors offer proven techniques for gaining clarity about responsibility, adaptability, boundaries and prioritization. These become the working parameters of day-to-day Pragmatic Spirituality and guide the reader in forming appropriate responses to various work-related situations. Guided imagery, visualizations and meditations show readers how to access intuitive powers for making valid decisions. Overall, the tone is interactive, prescriptive and helpful. Filled with mini-cases and examples to which most mid-level professionals will relate, The Inner Edge is easily digestible for today's business professional. The text is engaging and provocative and not overloaded with New Age jargon and concepts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...clearly thought out, workable guideline for Spirituality in Business dealing with profound issues...on the individual level and at work." -- Deepak Chopra

"...will be of compelling interest to anyone interested in creating a satisfying approach to business with a more human face." -- His Holiness, The Dalai Lama

From the Back Cover

Advanced Praise for The Inner Edge

"[The authors'] idea of practical spirituality incorporates what I think of as fundamental human values. I believe their explanation of how it can be developed and how it can be a source of success will be of compelling interest to anyone interested in creating a satisfying approach to business with a more human face."
--His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, from the Foreword

"A clearly thought out, workable guideline for spirituality in business dealing with profound issues both on the individual level and at work. Every thoughtful businessperson could benefit from this timely book."
--Deepak Chopra, author of How to Know God

"The publication of The Inner Edge could not be more timely. And I strongly believe that timing is almost everything--in a job search and in life! Many U.S. employees are now thinking differently about the work they do, their relation to it, and also to the organizations for which they work. This book provides a straightforward yet rich methodology for individuals to reconsider their activities and relationship to work in a powerful way."
--Bob Gardella, author of The Harvard Business School Guide to Finding Your Next Job

"The Inner Edge shows us how spirituality is the only way to succeed in business in these times. And it shows how bringing out your spirit in your life can inspire you to a new kind of success. This book is a gift to business people who need to find their way in this chaotic, but beautiful world."
--Michael Ray, Professor of Creativity and Innovation (Emeritus), Stanford Business School, and author of Creativity in Business

Instinct . . . intuition . . . authenticity . . . confidence . . . creativity . . . Every second of every day, these and countless other inner dynamics profoundly influence our career progress and personal satisfaction. As a rule, however, we not only remain unaware of the powerful influences of these subtle factors, but we miss the opportunity to take advantage of our virtually limitless potential.

The Inner Edge introduces a remarkable system--Pragmatic Spirituality--for recognizing, understanding, and aligning your innate inner strengths and using them to open up new energies and abilities in perception, decision-making, and interpersonal communication. Far from simply applying new labels to old concepts and techniques, this inspired and inspiring book introduces a newer, more effective form of self-awareness, one that will allow you to:

• Uncover and draw upon internal resources beyond your everyday rational thought processes
• Identify and let go of long-held, hand-me-down behavior patterns and to uncover the identity that is truly yours
• Seamlessly combine the logical and quantitative realities of business with the intuitive and qualitative resources of effective spirituality

"Who looks outside, dreams;
who looks inside, awakes."
­­Carl Jung

The Inner Edge outlines a comprehensive program for looking inside to find deeper levels of balance, congruity, and fulfillment. Beyond the purely personal, its techniques can also be used by managers and other businesspeople to create self-esteem and achieve greater effectiveness in the workplace, thus enhancing employee fulfillment as well as bottom-line productivity.

As humankind's search for personal validity widens and deepens, The Inner Edge examines our desire--in fact, our profound need--to incorporate the meaningfulness of spirituality into our business and personal lives. Its process--Pragmatic Spirituality--will help you link your inner potentials with your outer realities and pursue career and personal success without compromising your values and beliefs.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies (July 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809295415
• ISBN-13: 978-0809295418
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,549,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not very sharp........, December 12, 2002

By 

J.Moorkanikara "Jay's elibrary" (Irvine, US, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Inner Edge : Effective Spirituality in Your Life and Work (Hardcover)

The title, preface and initial chapters excited me towards this book which i happen to browse in a local book store. I was quite excited and sometimes amazed by the clarity of presentation by the authors in the initial chapters which talks about life and its purpose, understanding and having your own "identity" and also about the side-effects of deep-rooted negative childhood habbits (unfinished business) which some people tend to carry along in their life unknowingly. The techniques to identify your strengths and small steps to be carried out to overcome the negative qualities are somewhat old but polished with new terminologies and jargons.
But I noticed a strange discontinuity in the authors presentation, when they jump into a new concept, so called "Quantum Decision Making (QDM)". The authors does not give good insight into QDM nor establish the relationship between the initial chapters and QDM. Hence overall we are introduced in lots new terms but without clear purpose and reasoning. The case studies of their approach has been clearly separated from the actual text, which was helpful to maintain the continuity in the discussion.
I would been happy or atleast understood the QDM concept better if a limited version of a CD or small visual guide was accompanied with this book. Because of this most of the latter part of the book goes over the head, when the authors talk about "icons", "multicolored 3D visualization" .. etc. Interesting/Useful initial chapters but poor second part.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important book for these times, August 24, 2002

By 

Bob Whyte (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Inner Edge : Effective Spirituality in Your Life and Work (Hardcover)

Over the past 40 years I have read a bookshelf full of books offering guidance on how to feel more fulfilled, be more effective in working within organizations, etc., etc. Of the many books I have read on such topics, The Inner Edge is unique in assembling and organizing, in one book, the essential elements of what one needs to "have his or her act together" in a way that provides the reader a practical and systematic guide to make the most of who you are and deal more effectively with those around you - in family, social, and work settings.

The Inner Edge can be used in several ways including helping you figure out what to do with the rest of your life, and providing you with a practical and complete 10-20 minute daily routine to help you make each day as fulfilling and productive as possible.

This book helps us realize that we all have, and can tap into, inner spiritual strengths using our intuitive powers; but that to be freed up to access these inner strengths we first need to do three things...recognize and deal with (what the authors call) "unfinished business", take an insightful and honest look at who we are, and then set boundaries and priorities on the demands placed by others and ourselves on our time and energy.

Furthermore, The Inner Edge does more than help us in understanding these things; it is also a "how to" book. And in that regard the authors' use of "guided visualizations", particularly in helping us tap into our inner spirituality, makes The Inner Edge stand out.

While the book should be helpful to people in various stages in their lives, I think it is particularly valuable to people of any age going through a personal or job related transition; young people getting started in their careers, and people who will soon be leaving the traditional work place and are trying to deal with what to do with the rest of their lives.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, accessible psychology, August 31, 2002

By 

Alex Platt, Ph.D. (Riverside, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Inner Edge : Effective Spirituality in Your Life and Work (Hardcover)

I am a Management Psychologist and have worked for most of my career as a consultant to the senior management of corporations. In this role, I have had to produce results, or I wouldn't be aroune very long. As a result, my approach to areas such as career management and management effectiveness tends to be rather pragmatic and results oriented.

The above said, I consider Richard Wedemeyer's earlier book, "In Transition", by far the best book ever written on how to manage a career change. His most recent book, "The Inner Edge:
Effective Spirituality in Your Life and Work", is equally good, but I see it a little differently than he and his co-author. It is a far more probing examination of all the essential aspects of self-awareness. As such, it is a practical and realistic set of concepts and exercises which will prepare one to make a quantum leap in career effectiveness or which will prepare one for a book like "In Transition." Whether this is spirituality is another issue, but it is certainly very good, accessible psychology.