The Enneagram for Managers: Nine Different Perspectives on Managing People

Rating:
Summary: Clearly written and thoroughly fascinating!
Review: This is really a great introduction to the enneagram for everyone, not just business people. One of the interesting things about the book is that it is an original - perhaps the first - Dutch publication on the subject, in which the author speaks from his experience of the enneagram in practice within a European context. The book begins with an introduction to the various types, and although my daily life takes place in a different environment, the language of the business world seems ideally suited to discussion of this subject, with its many points of view and consequences. The types seem to come to life through the description of their roles within offices and companies. The second section of the book satisfies an awakening curiosity by providing the answers to all sorts of questions about the enneagram, helping you to delve deeper into the subject. What I really appreciate about this book is how the author handles the material with. Quite a different story from recent lightweight publications that smack of superficiality, where the subject is presented as a kind of entertainment that goes little further than loosely pigeon-holing yourself - and others - as one type or another, based on certain kinds of behavior; interesting only until the next typology comes along. The fascination of the enneagram, on the contrary, lies in its focus on human motivating drives and its function as a wonderful tool for better understanding of ourselves. Not that you have to become deadly serious about it, and there is never any question of that in this book. It is written with genuine fascination for what is beneath the surface. And because the enneagram tells us such interesting things about ourselves and our nearest and dearest, that fascination is contagious. So there's a good chance that you'll find yourself attracted to some of the other books described in the descriptive bibliography at the end.