University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
The Inside-Out Effect
Book

The Inside-Out Effect

A Practical Guide to Transformational Leadership

Behnam Tabrizi and Michael Terrell
Evolve Publishing, 2013
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Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • Well Structured
  • Overview
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Most success manuals recommend changing yourself to reach your goals. Consultants Behnam Tabrizi and Michael Terrell take the opposite approach. They believe you should change your goals to align with your innermost self. Mount an expedition into your psyche, align your life with the values you find within and use the resulting confidence to lead others more effectively. Tabrizi and Terrell’s exercises and tactics aren’t entirely new and some are described so vaguely that they’re hard to put into practice. But the authors’ central idea is refreshing, and their exercises should provide usable insights into your fundamental character. getAbstract recommends this breezy, encouraging book to businesspeople looking for a distinctive route to fulfillment.

Summary

The Problem

Your pursuit of happiness will find only futility if you go at it backward. People often chase happiness and fulfillment from the “outside-in”: They strive to reach a series of external goals, such as attaining certain jobs, possessions or relationships. But if these external goals don’t harmonize with your inner values, goals and passions, life becomes a conflict between your actions and your inner self. Your successes can then feel void of meaning.

To find fulfillment, pursue happiness from the “inside-out” – discover who you are at the most fundamental level and align your external goals, actions and relationships with your inner impulses. Then, you are “living your calling.” Your life will go more smoothly, because you’ve resolved the friction between your actions and your “core values.” Your work will be more meaningful and stimulating and you’ll have a genuine upbeat attitude in every area of your life.

To move closer toward living your calling, utilize the “Know-Be-Lead” formula. This toolbox of techniques and exercises will help you, first, to “know” who you are by identifying your “fundamental passions” and “deep-rooted personal purpose.” ...

About the Authors

Behnam Tabrizi, a consulting professor at Stanford’s Department of Management Science and Engineering, has written five books. Michael Terrell founded the Terrell Leadership Group.

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