Leadership and Self-Deception

We have often heard the phrase "thinking outside the box". It means thinking beyond the norms and conventions, from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking. It seems easy but it's never at all. Zig Zigler, the world-renowned speaker on motivation, will attest to this.

The catchphrase has become a cliché widely used in business environments, especially by management consultants and executive coaches. To think outside the box is to look further and to try not thinking of the obvious things, but to try thinking beyond them.

The Arbinger Institute has come up with this book to teach, in a rather fun way, how to identify problems and get your priorities right to enable you to think more creatively and hence, "think outside the box".

The book is written in the form of a story of a new "potentially bright" management recruit who finds his colleagues in the new company "different". He was asked to meet up with the CEO who then talks to him in a way to make him see the benefits of thinking in a new way.

There is a workbook for this but reading this "Leadership and Self-Deception" book is a good start already. So, what is the main obstacle to thinking outside the box? As you can guess already, it's self-deception. We think our way is good and hence, we do not look beyond a personal viewpoint.

The book is not a thick one and can be read in a day or two. It may take longer if we pause to think and self-examine. But the price is a killer. RM50.00.

But for those who can afford this, it's a good buy.