List of Articles & Reviews by Jack Falt
Book Review by Jack Falt
Now back to reality! Even the most introverted people have to relate to an extraverted world. They just have to suck it up and get out there. But not everyone has the skills needed to survive the wheeling and dealing that seems to come so naturally to the extravert. In today’s world of work your survival depends on your latest contract for new work. You need to get out and schmooze. If this does not come naturally, this is the book for you. It is also a book for extraverts to help them understand the world of the introvert.
Individual coaching has become a growing phenomenon. Here is a how-to book to coach you through the steps needed to learn how to connect with others to advance your career, or to use to coach someone else through the process.
Extraverts on the whole do make more money than introverts. They aren’t afraid to speak out and let people know what they have to offer. Introverts needs to learn what extraverts tend to do naturally. Of course the line between extraverts and introverts isn’t all that clear cut. Jung/Myers theory helps a person decide whether they have a preference for one over the other, but of course no one is all extravert or all introvert. So even the extravert may find a lot of useful information in this book, even if it just brings into focus what they are actually doing naturally.
The authors begins by making clear the difference between being shy and being an introvert. Shyness is being quite uncomfortable in specific situations, so they avoid those uncomfortable situations. It seems to be inborn. Introverts, on the other hand, don’t avoid situations because of being uncomfortable, but need to be alone to recharge. Having to extravert drains them of energy. This book is helpful to both introverts and the shy. Even extraverts can be shy, and as such can benefit from the ideas in this book.
To get ahead in the world of work individuals have to let others know what they do and how good they are at it. It is estimated that 75% of all jobs are obtained through networking. For introverts this is not easy to do. They feel as if they are imposing or forcing themselves on others. Just knowing they are introverts can be very helpful. Taking the MBTI® instrument and understanding the meaning of it can help them feel that they are OK. They still have to learn how to network, but at least they don’t have to beat themselves up for not being able to do it naturally.
The book gives very specific details on how to learn the skill of networking, and it has lots of first-hand anecdotes on what people were going through while learning the skills. Both authors are introverts themselves and are very open about their own struggles to keep practising the very skills they teach. They have run workshops and counselled numerous clients in their techniques so they know they work. They also deal with gender and how being male or female introverts are perceived, and their unique problems. They even discuss how introverts in relationships and marriage need to use these skills with their partners.
I think this is a very worthwhile book. I can see those who do counselling or coaching finding the information very useful, and I can see the material being developed into an excellent followup to an initial Jung/Myers theory presentation.