Product Description

The four main tenets of life, 'Sex, Money, Happiness and Death' are explored in this unique new book that examines the interface between psychology and management. Life is not all about the symbols of power and position, status is an elusive entity, popularity an accident, wealth very fickle; what is truly important has to do with meaningful relationships, making a difference and creating meaning. Based on his experiences as a psychoanalyst, professor and leadership coach, the author addresses these issues and their effect on work and life in general, giving advice on how to deal with the challenges that executives, or for that matter, most people struggle with.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83550 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 264 pages

Review
'This book is the distillation of the life experiences of an internationally renowned guru of management and leadership studies. Combining insight with his signature wit, Kets de Vries cuts to the bone as he reflects on and gently guides executives, and others, through some of the core issues that bedevil our lives. A book that will linger in memory, creating ever-widening ripples, long after the ephemeral offerings of the usual management literature have disappeared.' - Dr. Sudhir Kakar, Psychoanalyst, Anthropologist, Novelist and one of the major thinkers of the world 'The art of understanding oneself is crucial to understanding others. Professor Manfred Kets de Vries' insight into our motivations and levels of emotional intelligence exposes the hidden fact that lies at the heart of business behaviour; namely that we are all human.' - The Viscount Rothermere, Chairman DMGT 'This book made me laugh, it made me feel uncomfortable sometimes, but I learned a lot. It makes the reader think about how much s/he can do - good and bad - to her/himself and to others in family, business and social life. With his free and easy style Kets de Vries lines up the latest findings of human science and gives examples of the highs and lows of real human life reminding us that we are in the driving seat. Seize the opportunity.' - Janos Csak, Economist, Sociologist, Chairman, Constellation Energy Institute

Review

'This book is the distillation of the life experiences of an internationally renowned guru of management and leadership studies. Combining insight with his signature wit, Kets de Vries cuts to the bone as he reflects on and gently guides executives, and others, through some of the core issues that bedevil our lives. A book that will linger in memory, creating ever-widening ripples, long after the ephemeral offerings of the usual management literature have disappeared.' - Dr. Sudhir Kakar, Psychoanalyst, Anthropologist, Novelist and one of the major thinkers of the world

'The art of understanding oneself is crucial to understanding others. Professor Manfred Kets de Vries' insight into our motivations and levels of emotional intelligence exposes the hidden fact that lies at the heart of business behaviour; namely that we are all human.' - The Viscount Rothermere, Chairman DMGT

'This book made me laugh, it made me feel uncomfortable sometimes, but I learned a lot. It makes the reader think about how much s/he can do - good and bad - to her/himself and to others in family, business and social life. With his free and easy style Kets de Vries lines up the latest findings of human science and gives examples of the highs and lows of real human life reminding us that we are in the driving seat. Seize the opportunity.' - Janos Csak, Economist, Sociologist, Chairman, Constellation Energy Institute

About the Author
MANFRED KETS DE VRIES is The Raoul de Vitry d'Avaucourt Chaired Professor of Leadership Development and the Clinical Professor of Leadership at INSEAD, France, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi. He is also the Distinguished Professor of Leadership at the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin (ESMT), Germany. He has also held professorships at McGill University, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Montreal and the Harvard Business School. Kets de Vries is a founding member of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations. The Financial Times, Le Capital, Wirtschaftswoche, The Economist, and the New York Times have judged him one of the world's leading thinkers on leadership. He is the author, co-author or editor of 30 books and more than 300 articles. His books and articles have been translated into 29 languages. He is a member of seventeen editorial boards. Kets de Vries has been elected a Fellow of the Academy of Management. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to leadership research by the International Leadership Association.
 
www.ketsdevries.com

Customer Reviews

All you need is love?
In this book, Manfred Kets de Vries, one of the leading management thinker and practicioner on leadership, attempted to do something very different from his many other books. This time, the author brings key learning points on «living». How can we deal with four of our life's major challenges: first, the sexual desire, which can often makes us do things we would never otherwise have done; second, the need for money, which can sometimes affect the lives of people that have too much in a much more dramatically way than the life of those who have too little; third, the quest for happinness, with the recurrent question on «how to be happy?»; and, last but not least, our relationship with death, not only our own but also, and probably much more impacting, the loss of a close person. The afterword section of the book deals with the search of meaning in life and other related themes like wisdom, altruism and authenticity.