SELF-IMPROVEMENT AND MOTIVATIONAL BOOKS | Book Club Reviews | S.Sulianah

Surrounded by Psychopaths: How to Protect Yourself from Being Manipulated and Exploited in Business by Thomas Erikson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was actually worried to buy this book initially because firstly I don't think I have encountered with any psychopaths in my life and I feel like the word psychopaths is too strong to categorised people and well it does not interest me at all. Surprisingly, after reading the characters with the examples he gave in the book, I realized that actually encountered with this kind of person few months back but luckily we did not keep in contact anymore. Even her profession fits the one he highlighted on the potential of psychopaths' occupation.

And yes, he uses the same concept as he had highlighted in Surrounded by Idiots. At first I thought that it will be the same kind of story but then gradually, he explained it more towards the psychopaths' behavior. Much more in-depth and feels heavier compared to Surrounded by Idiots. That is his niche which is fine for me.

I have heard about these behavior and actually could pinpoint to a person whom I know, not close to me but I knew how he works. He takes advantage of women, uses their hard-earned money which these women buy their own house, get married to them and automatically this guy's name will be in the house (apparently by law even though sounds unfair), then they divorce and claimed partial of the money from the house sale for himself before moving on to another one. I didn't know this is a psychopath character though but well now I know.

By the way, the overall information shared by Author is moving and you will want to know what is next.

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Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have no idea why the reviews here about this book is not good when it is the opposite. I bought this book when I came across it in Kinokuniya so I got it with Surrounded by Psychopaths. I studied Psychology and Consumer Insights and has been learning about humans' behavior and psychology for years and applying it in my career in organisations and my own companies. The author clearly highlighted he uses the DISC concept so I don't understand why there are still reviews saying that he do not link to any research and he wrote based on his experiences only. Hello! We want experiences written from Authors' personal experiences applying those research in the books they wrote. If we want fully on research we can read scholar articles in journals.

He makes it simple to understand by using colors which is if you really read with an open mindset and accepting changes and ideas, it is in fact easier to remember. I couldn't remember the originals system but this I can even apply it when I analyze handwritings of my clients. Apart from that, I could also categorized my ex-colleagues behavior and characters easily by using these 4 colors. The examples he gave that linked to these colors are also helpful to relate because we need examples to understand the concept and remember how it works.


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The Innovator's DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators by Jeffrey H. Dyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A great refresher and in-depth understanding of the Disruptive Strategy course which I took at HBX Harvard. Additional examples and practical real-life applications.

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