A book review and recommendation by Dan Beaulieu
Talking to Crazy: How to Deal with the Irrational and Impossible People in Your Life
by Mark Goulston
Copyright: 2016 Amacom
Price: $24.95 • 259 with index
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A Surprisingly informative and pertinent book!
I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by Mark Goulston’s new book, Talking to Crazy: How to Deal with the Irrational and Impossible People in Your Life.
I picked it up because I thought it would be a smile. I also thought I might just get something out of it because, like all of us, I know some pretty crazy people. I was stunned, however, by how effective the advice in this book was and how much it pertained to my business life as a consultant.
Okay, so we all know crazy; we all know people who are somewhat irrational or even completely bonkers. But we don’t know how to deal with them, right? Well, consider this in past tense — we did not know how to deal with them until this new book came along.
Author Dr. Goulston is a psychiatrist as well as business coach, so he can write about both sides of an issue. He explains why people act the way they do and how to deal with them.
I especially liked the case studies highlighted in the book in which he used real-life examples to show readers how to interact with certain people who have specific disorders. There also is an example of an “older” software developer who has to deal with a bunch of “Young Turks” who start working with him and want to change everything he has worked on for the past 15 years. He finds himself getting madder and madder until he starts using a technique recommended by Dr. Goulston. He levels with them, explains the way he feels, apologizes and asks for their help by attaining middle ground where they all benefit from one another’s cooperation. The result? They produced a better product.
This is just one of many examples of how to deal with difficult people in tough situations. I strongly recommend that you buy this book, read it and keep it handy because you will find it infinitely useful, no matter what profession or life situation you are in.
Dan Beaulieu is the president and founder of D.B. Management, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in all aspects of sales, marketing and branding with a focus on rep-principal relationships. His latest book is The PCB 101 Handbook which can be purchased online by emailing danbbeaulieu@aol.com. Dan is also the author of “It’s Only Common Sense,” a weekly sales column appearing at pcb007.com. Dan can be reached at 207-649-0879.