January 2006 Book Review
The Seven Languages of Transformation:
How The Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work
Robert Kean and Lisa Laskow Lahey
This book covers the way human beings not only talk with others, but also the way we talk within our own heads to ourselves. It contains a lot of insightful “AH-HAs” for readers who stick it out through the somewhat prickly prose.
It is, in fact, the way this book is written that invites my main point of comment. There is a certain awkwardness to the flow of thoughts presented. Grammatically correct, I often found, however, the text quite difficult to read. For those who are not fluid readers, have a non-English primary language, or are unfamiliar sorting through scientific data, it may be difficult to fully understand. There were several sections I had to re-read several times before grasping the entire meaning due, in large part, to poor sentence structure.
For tenacious readers, however, the content and exercises are well worth the effort. This book covers a lot of common-sense issues pertaining to everyday communication. From ingrained beliefs, assumptions and personal truisms; to challenging the meanings we attached to activities and occurrences, The Seven Languages of Transformation provides a deeper insight into recognizing that not everything is exactly the way we think it is.
This book encourages us all to look beyond what we know, and to consider that there may be more positive purposes and possibilities in the way we talk and communicate – not just with others, but with ourselves as well. Anyone who deals with clients and clients’ perceptions and beliefs should read this book. If one is open to learning more about one’s self, and is willing to open up to a multitude of world views (all of them correct on some level), this book can be a great catalyst to changing the way we talk. That is the key to changing the way we work!
A great addition to any business education library.
Rating: * * * (of a possible 5 stars)
To purchase a copy of this book for your library, click here
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