Book Review — Emotional Intelligence 2.0

I think this will be a good book.  It doesn't add a lot of information to the field of Emotional Intelligence for me but what it does do is give some guidance in how the reader can increase their Emotional Intelligence or EQ as it's called.

The book lays out four areas where you can increase your EQ.  I find this interesting once again.  A few years ago I went to a training meeting offered by the group that I worked for.  In that meeting they said that people had been dividing people into different groups of strengths for thousands of years starting with Socrates.  They often divide them into 4 groups and the groups are similar sounding.  I just remember this happening and that after the guy leading us that time said it I went and researched it on the web a little and he seemed to be right.  Now here these guys are again dividing us into 4 Groups.  That's got to be good.

I'm not going to tell you what the areas are, but they make sense.  The book also give 63 ideas (I'm just repeating what I heard or read somewhere I didn't actually count them) about how to improve in these areas.  I find this a very great idea.  Many of these ideas I've read about before in self-help books, like remembering someone's name is very powerful.  Yes it is and I'm terrible at it, but this give a good reason for why I should improve and how it will help overall.  This book also makes the point that trying to change everything at once is over whelming and that you should just pick 3 ideas to work on.  That really makes sense to me.

Buying the book also gives you access to a code that allows you to take a super special test (in their eyes I'm sure) that analyzes where you need help and then gives you suggestions on what you should start practicing.  In a review about this book I read someone that said that the test was stupid and that it would be easy to ace.  I'd have to say that I agree with that person, but only a moron would try to ace a test they were going to take for self improvement.  Maybe acing the test if it were part of a job interview sure, but just for yourself?  The test actually confirmed that I'm weak in areas I thought I'd be weak in, and stronger in areas I thought I'd be strong in, although not as strong as I'd like.  They gave 3 suggestions of things to work on in the book and I agree with two of them but will probably change the third.  Overall this seems to be a very promising book.