Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box - Review

This book deals with one issue - The effect of our subjective perception towards the world. How we tend to see the world with a self-centered bias, and how it hurts ourselves & everybody else.

The book introduced an idea, a new vocabulary- "The box".

The box is an imaginary confinement that altered our perception towards the world. 

It makes us see the world the way that make us look good, instead of the way it really is. - "Self-deception" as the book called it.

This book with "the box" is essentially an idea stem from the same concepts as "self-victimization", "taking responsibility", "change yourself as you can't change others", "everything starts with perception". 

Though it was an old idea with different packaging, it has given me a new insight on how "the box" can be tied together with issue such as leadership, when I previously only see it as a interpersonal or intrapersonal skill.

Or perhaps I should say, the impact for me was the realization that leadership is a interpersonal skill, something between a person and another, rather than a herding skill of one person vs a group entity. 

This is leadership.

This is not.

The book explore the concept of "the box" through the narration of a man starting a new job, through the examination of his work life and his family life. With plenty of examples, the book dissects our daily life and show us how "the box" affects everything. 

Conclusion, all evil in the world can be traced to self-deception. 

Self-deception is literally Hitler. 

Hitler through the box, see Jews as the people to blame.

At the end, it is painfully obvious to us that we have to leave "the box" to achieve ...errhem  success.

Rant: One would not mistake the story in this book for true-story as the narrator portrayed every character in the book as if they are 5 years old, especially Tom the protagonist. This was done mainly to achieve an "ELI5"(Explain Like I'm Five) effect, to leave nothing unsaid and thus no chance of misinterpretation. It achieved the said purpose well to the effect that I dub this book "Self-Deception for Dummies".

Summary of book:

1) Self betrayal leads to self-deception and "the box".

2) When you are in the box, you can't focus on result.

3) Your influence and success will depend on being out of the box.

4) You get out of the box as you cease resisting other people.

Notes to self: 

1) One does not ask a person to change, one invites a person to change; just like one could not demand a person's affection but invite/seduce a person by changing oneself. 

2) When we are having a self-centered perception, we tend to see others as OBJECTS instead of human being.

Rant: As if there isn't enough self-help book using the story of Ignaz Semmelweis and childbed fever, I felt like I am breathing recycled air every time I came across another self-help book using this oh-so-profound story. 



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