Chapter One.

I was reading The Naked CEO by Alex Malley and while I planned to write a post on the entire book, I decided that it would be much too long because there is so much in it. So in this post, I will just be talking about the first chapter.

Firstly, I like the style of the book. It's an easy read and doesn't over-complicate. It really feels like Alex Malley has taken you under his wing as he tells you about his own personal experiences. Each chapter also ends with an anecdote of a past mentee.

Reading chapter one, I found myself nodding in agreement and thinking, 'wow that is so true.' This was especially the case when he explained the importance of self awareness. It feels like that today people are so concerned about crossing off the things in their daily to-do lists that they often don't realise what habits and quirks they develop along the way. Some people are so fixed with having things pan out in a certain way that they don't realise how they treat people and how they make others feel. And after years and years of developing habits and continued behaviour, before they realise it, they can become someone that they barely recognise. A little dramatic, I know, but self awareness is a crucial part of being critical of yourself in order to deal with your issues and become a better person. And not to go off on too much of a tangent but I think that a large part of this is reliant on having emotional intelligence.
Having emotional intelligence can earn you a great deal of respect (and possibly prevent embarrassing situations). When you are able to pick your battles and have control over your emotions then you do appear more.. well intelligent!

This chapter is all about learning to let your guard down in order to be your genuine self. Somehow, I had gotten the impression that in a work environment, you needed to hide your personality so that you would be taken seriously but after reading this chapter (and talking to industry partners) I've discovered that this is definitely not the case and your personality can work to your advantage.