Suggested to me by an executive that has the potential to really upset people. I can see how people could take offense to this as it breaks down one’s personality. The ultimate premise is about either being in the box or out of it. When you are in the box, you are closed off to everyone and see others as objects, this in turn makes others pretty much hate you. Outside of the box is about treating others as people and being open to them. It gets much further into detail about self betrayal and self deception. For example, if you ignore someone, you justify ways not to do something for them, further blame them while building yourself up as perfect. Living in the box is constantly seeing yourself as this built up person, justifying yourself, thus pushing others away and they see you as less of a person. This ends up putting them in the box as well; known as collusion. This is destructive behavior that spreads.

I could see how many people grow up having to fight for everything from others and they end up in the box. Growing up with compassion and consideration for others already puts you outside of the box naturally. No one is perfect though as everyone can catch themselves betraying themselves, but at least you can think about this concept and adjust.

This concept is really broken down into how it can impact a company culture, it’s people and results. I’m a big proponent of making positive relationships; results are easier when people enjoy working together. I believe a successful organization is one where all employees are stakeholders in its success; down to the janitor. A culture like this is unstoppable.

Stop being an asshole and treat people with respect, compassion, empathy, and consideration. Focus on results.

The end provides additional advice on application to business: 1. Applicant screeenig 2. Leadership and team building 3. Conflict resolution 4. Accountability transformation 5. Personal growth and development. A great example seems to be Salesforce, they appear to be the happiest company always doing work for others. Marc Benioff strikes again.

This book was framed as a dialogue, but instead of leaving the dialogue to elaborate on points, the ENTIRE book was dialogue. I am not exaggerating, this entire book covered a day and a half of meetings, words for word. For this reason, I found it extremely difficult to read. I thought the dialogue would slow down after a few pages but it continued for 177 straight pages.

Unfortunately, the dialogue was also extremely dry. Every other page the main character would just repeat what the leader would say. “The box?” “Self-deception?” “Collusion?” “A ladder?”

I understand the points they are trying to make but because of the way this book was written, I can’t give it more than 2 stars. Extremely dry, extremely repetitive, extremely long.

I know a lot of people who really love this book. It takes complex ideas and presents them in an easy-to-follow format. Which is fine if you're 10 years old. I felt like it was dumbed-down and assumed the reader is less than intelligent. Despite its big print, simple sentences, and few pages, it was a struggle to make it to the end. Want the same ideas presented to competent adults? Check out "Bonds that Make Us Free" by C. Terry Warner.

کتاب ساده‌ و کوتاهی که خودفریبی و پشت کردن به احساسات خود رو در دنیای کاری و غیر کاری شفاف نشون میده... و البته بستگی داره چقدر ذهن آدم پذیرای شنیدن محتوای کتاب بدون پیش قضاوت باشه.

البته متن کتاب اشکالات نگارشی خیلی زیادی داشت متاسفانه ولی محتوای کتاب جذاب و درگیر کننده بود

Read this book for a leadership training at my internship next week. I will say that it’s not a typical book on my reading list, but I did actually enjoy it.

A really cool concept that reminded me of a class that I took this past semester on how we know the right thing to do but do the opposite — self-damaging impulses; it was good to see this applied in a professional/workplace setting.

Maybe I should start reading more leadership books

People should read the book. It gives a new way of looking at our behaviors. It gives you an option to look at your acting. By knowing them, you can gradually live a better life, run organizations better. The book does not give you answers for your problems. It gives you the truth.
I love the "Box" concept and the drawing. The drawing delivered a big impact on my memory.
While reading the book, I reflected, I got so many ah-ha moments. The book is my environment to open the other sides of the box. We all have many boxes.
The philosophy in the book applies to all aspects, not just in job or leadership.

I read this one for work and frankly, I found it incredibly profound. The concepts are so simple but difficult to master. The book teaches how we often deceive ourselves into thinking that others are often the cause of our problems without realizing how we are contributing or creating these problems. It breaks down the thought processes we often use to justify these thoughts and shift the blame to others but also offers a way to “get out of the box” of thinking this way. These lessons not only have benefits for your work but can be applied to every relationship in your life. The narrative style of the book may not be to everyone’s taste but I thought it was a brilliant choice as it lets the reader put themselves in the place of the main character and empathize with him and the characters. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for some inspiration to get out of a rut or to have better, more meaningful relationships with co-workers, family, or friends.

A guidebook for life! This excellent book uses a fictional example to get you thinking "out of the box" in how you interact with others, both in business and in your personal life. This should be mandatory reading for every employee and family member. You find yourself in the shoes of the characters as they go through problems in their lives, realizing that we all have these same problems in our relationships with people. I'll be having my kids all read this! This book will help you, and everyone in any type of organization work better together.

This book was amazing! I believe that the content is very applicable to anyone that works in any professional capacity. It helped me put things in perspective, and gave me greater insight on how to navigate all of my relationships with people I work with. Great book!

روش نگارش «مدیریت و خودفریبی» روایی و داستان گونه است. مدیری که در آستانهٔ ارتقای شغلی قرار دارد، از آشنایی خود با دانش شگفت انگیزی حکایت می کند که موجب حل مشکلات می شود و آدم ها را متوجه اشتباهاتشان در راه رسیدن به نتایج دلخواه می سازد. این حکایت با آن که در برخی قسمت ها با ارایهٔ نمودارها، جداول و اشکال گویا و طرح پرسش هایی دقیق به آموزش نکات مدیریتی و حتی معنوی می پردازد، اما در هیچ کجا زبان شیرین و روان داستانی را از دست نمی دهد و از این رو موجب ملال و دلزدگی خواننده نمی شود. گویا خواننده در سراسر کتاب در عین حال که رو به روی یک لوح آموزشی نشسته و چشمان مشتاق خود را به آن دوخته، نفس گرم یک پیر آزموده و قصه گو را نیز حس می کند و صدای گیرا و بانفوذ او بر جانش می نشیند. هنر برجستهٔ «مدیریت و خودفریبی» درآمیختن مطالب آموزشی مدیریت از مجرای رهنمودهای معنوی و در بستر ماجراهای ملموس و فراگیر هر روز زندگی ست.

I thought the book had some excellent five star concepts and ideas but it was just a 3 star read. Although the book didn't unnecessarily rehash ideas as business books are prone to do, I felt that it was sometimes difficult to extract the principles being taught because of the story-style way of presenting the material. That said, I plan on implementing a couple of their ideas which I believe can be life altering.

I read this for Book Club. It was insightful and I've thought about "the box" a lot since then. Every person in a leadership position would benefit from reading this.