People with unbridled egos see themselves as the suns in their individual universes, and believe that all important activity
and thought revolve around them. “We would rather speak ill of ourselves than not talk of ourselves at all,” observed the worldly wise French nobleman François de La Rochefoucauld 300 years ago. His aphorism is still relevant. In business as in life, unchecked ego sabotages the achievement of important goals. Employees resent and oppose narcissistic
executives, regardless of the value of their ideas or the quality of their leadership. However, the brutally competitive business world can also swallow timid, self-effacing souls alive. The best leaders have neither too much nor too little ego. David Marcum and Steven Smith explain how to find the right balance. They offer
distressing examples of ego run amok while also providing practical demonstrations of how a healthy dose of ego can be your best ally. getAbstract recommends this book to managers who wonder why the rest of the world has so far failed to recognize their greatness, to high achievers who think they may need a reality check and to human-resource professionals, who often have to clean up the messes that egotistical executives leave behind them.