 By Bruna Martinuzzi
Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Press, 2009
ISBN 9780979734304
125 pages
The Big Idea
People follow the footsteps of those they consider trustworthy. You cannot have effective leadership without credibility; and the quickest route to earn credibility is to act as a Mensch. This book explores what it takes to be a Mensch.
A Mensch is a man or a woman of integrity and honor, an upstanding individual, a decent person with admirable characteristics. It describes an individual who is higher on the evolutionary scale, a person in whose presence we feel safe; a person who makes us feel good about ourselves. It is someone we want to work for, someone we want as our spouse or business partner – someone we would welcome as a friend. To be called a Mensch is the greatest compliment one can give you.
The book is organized around the metaphor of a tree. As a Mensch, the roots represent our foundation, that which anchors and nurtures us and gives us our resilience. It’s our stability, the most crucial part of our being. Just as a tree cannot survive without its roots, so a leader cannot exist as a leader without these foundational qualities – humility, authenticity and empathy.
While the roots are underground, the trunk is the visible part – the outward manifestation of who we are. It is the body of our leadership ethos in action which others see clearly. It comprises our accountability, our optimism, and our comportment as a leader.
And the branches are further manifestations of how we stretch ourselves to reach and inspire others as leaders – they represent our moods, our generosity, and our appreciation of others. Our power to influence and inspire those who surround us lives in our branches. |
Why You Need This Book
This book illustrates the quality of integrity and honor, decency and reliability, empathy and appreciation, selflessness and service that allow men and women at any level in any organization to influence and motivate others, not by the exercise of authority, but through example as an upstanding individual with an admirable character. The book provides a wealth of practical advice for anyone in society who has opportunity to influence others.
PART ONE: ROOTS
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORD IN ENGLISH – HUMILITY
The dictionary defines humility as the quality or state of someone who is modest, who lacks pretence, who does not believe that he or she is superior to others. It’s about a quiet confidence without the need for a meretricious selling of our wares. It’s about being content to let others discover the layers of one’s talents without having to boast about them.
Something interesting happens when we approach situations from a perspective of humility – it opens us up to possibilities as we choose open-mindedness and curiosity over protecting our own points of view. The Mensch leader spends more time in that wonderful space of the ‘beginner’s mind,’ willing to learn from what others have to offer. This translates into moving away from pushing into allowing, away from insecurity to security, away from seeking approval to seeking enlightenment. It’s forgetting about being perfect and enjoying being in the moment.
|
| Have You Heard What Other Members Are Saying? |
|
"Your business book summaries are already standard reading in our company." ~ Al Bergen, CEO, Mesa Consulting
|
"Every issue of BusinessSummaries is sent to our client. Every week for twelve months, it always reminds them how much we appreciate the business they give us. This is one novel corporate gift." ~ Victoria A. Martone, General Manager, Cosas, Inc.
|
"Without taking away precious time from running my business, I learn something new every week." ~ Norelyn Fiera, Executive Vice President, Fiera de Manila, Inc.
|
"One thing I like about your summaries is that I can always go back to the concepts rather than going through the 300-page book looking for them. It saves me a lot of time." ~ John Fernandez, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Xytron Corporation
|
"Well, I also checked on the other sites. I chose you guys because your subscription package has the best overall value in terms of price, number of issues, free bonus, and refund policy." ~ Pauline Fermin, Business Development Director, ASPAC
|
“I would like to thank all of you for the good effort and EXCELLENT service rendered to us.” ~ Teoh Soo Mei, Group Training, OSK Investment Bank Berhad
|
|
|
“BusinessSummaries not only did a god job at summarising my books, but interpreting the real philosophy behind. Also the relationship with the team as an author was excellent and a pleasant experience. I know that the book’s editor enjoyed the same." 
