I was a manager at General Electric for a decade. We were prescribed self help books (7 Habits for example) and pop business management books (Good to Great). I came to loathe them, but read them as told - usually on airplane.
Good to Great the worst - the central message is that companies that go from Good to Great have an intelligent, humble, steadfast CEO at the helm - so listen to him. The book taught me one thing - that there is no easier way to make money than writing a trite book telling powerful, wealthy people they are wonderful and deserve all the fawning they receive and greater financial compensation. GE went broke a few years later and almost went under completely.
I don’t really have a comment, except that this is a really fantastic piece. One of your best!
I guess since I am commenting already, I’ll add that the control group of Stephen King readers should exclude On Writing, which is self-help adjacent (and excellent).
Actually, novels are full of moral instruction. Give the controls puzzle games.
"If you are a good sleeper, do not read books about insomnia."
I'm in BioBank. From time to time they send round questionnaires. There was one on sleeplessness. Up until then I'd always fallen asleep as soon as I wanted to. It took me a couple of years to get back to that state and it's still nowhere near as reliable as it was previously.
The next questionnaire was on pain. I skipped it...
I consider self help the junk food of non fiction prose writing...but I still can’t help myself. That said definitely co-sign the recommendation for 4000 weeks. Cheers!
Thanks for this post. My sense is that self help books work like fairy tales and the like. They invite you to think of two extremes, eg, hot and cold porridge, so that you’ll have a clearer picture of what’s just right. I have a ceo friend who keeps a whole list of contradictory mandates for leadership, but, because he actually has a deep story behind each one, they help him hone his judgement in specific scenarios.
I agree with your take on the contrast of self-help books. I thought 'The 5am Club' was one of the worst self-help books ever written—exceptionally trite—yet I agreed with some of the principles behind it. It worked for me, but I can't say it will work for everyone. Others might simply be better suited to a later start or get their creativity at night (My Mum was always best working into the night.)
I'm always drawn more to books where psychology is at play. 'Never Split the Difference' is a great example with practical skills that have real value. My favourite is Daniel Kahneman's 'Thinking Fast & Slow'. His entire life's work in one book. Incredibly powerful and insightful. Something I return to a lot.
Ideas are not useful as abstract entities. There must be scope for practice, Aand readers must have the willingness and curiosity to experiment. Gandhiji called his Autobiography, an experiment in truth.Self-help books are useful only when they provide workable solutions. Platitudes are of no use. At least, there must be incremental benefit.
“In this regard, reading these books is similar to therapy (or, to put it differently, maybe reading them is a form of therapy.)” - This is really well said and I think true.
Thanks Paul: My mind is very structured and I think in processes and whole person psychology. Most of what I read in self help books is from name psychologists like yourself - usually professors. If the subject matter seems relevant to moving me forward in exploration, then I learn it, sleep on it, and recall and reflect over a week or two. If it doesn't feel good in a trial and error methodology then I reject and erase it from my mind. For example if it produces anxiety or trouble sleeping or dreaming. This is how I explore with self-direction and discovery. This heuristic methodology requires consistency and an open mind. Historically, I found these processes greatly help especially if one is working with a therapist....This trial and error approach helped me move from managing schizophrenia to thriving and flourishing.......
Thank you for this wonderful confession. I share your passion for the genre and have long wondered why so many intellectuals distance themselves from it. I suspect a form of „willing suspension of disbelief“ distinguishes self-help. Those who read self-help books enjoy relief from the skeptical attitude of the academic world. For once, they’re not critical, differentiated, and balanced but allow themselves to be helped and celebrate unbroken unambiguity for the duration of the reading, although they secretly know, of course, that most arguments lack evidence, and one could see things quite differently.
Great read, Paul. I'd love to hear more about the point about reflection sometimes messing things up. That's such a finding! Such interesting possible implications. If you ever write a post on it one day, I'd love to read it!
80mph fastball? Man. The game has definitely changed. :)
My book reading process is similar, but it's more like a rabbit hole. I read about someone or something in one book and want to know more so continue down that path with another book. It's how I eventually got to your books.
I mostly read to find more motivations and distractions to keep me from drowning in nihilism, but like you I stumble onto tidbits and strategies that help me in day-to-day activities, like work and raising a family...and I agree about Oliver Burkeman's book(s) - one of the best.
I wonder if acts of kindness are more effective when they facilitate real social interaction, sort of bridging the evidence gap between these two interventions?
I was a manager at General Electric for a decade. We were prescribed self help books (7 Habits for example) and pop business management books (Good to Great). I came to loathe them, but read them as told - usually on airplane.
Good to Great the worst - the central message is that companies that go from Good to Great have an intelligent, humble, steadfast CEO at the helm - so listen to him. The book taught me one thing - that there is no easier way to make money than writing a trite book telling powerful, wealthy people they are wonderful and deserve all the fawning they receive and greater financial compensation. GE went broke a few years later and almost went under completely.
I don’t really have a comment, except that this is a really fantastic piece. One of your best!
I guess since I am commenting already, I’ll add that the control group of Stephen King readers should exclude On Writing, which is self-help adjacent (and excellent).
Actually, novels are full of moral instruction. Give the controls puzzle games.
"If you are a good sleeper, do not read books about insomnia."
I'm in BioBank. From time to time they send round questionnaires. There was one on sleeplessness. Up until then I'd always fallen asleep as soon as I wanted to. It took me a couple of years to get back to that state and it's still nowhere near as reliable as it was previously.
The next questionnaire was on pain. I skipped it...
what an amazing (and terrible) story, Malcolm!
just annoying. Worse things happen.
I consider self help the junk food of non fiction prose writing...but I still can’t help myself. That said definitely co-sign the recommendation for 4000 weeks. Cheers!
Thanks for this post. My sense is that self help books work like fairy tales and the like. They invite you to think of two extremes, eg, hot and cold porridge, so that you’ll have a clearer picture of what’s just right. I have a ceo friend who keeps a whole list of contradictory mandates for leadership, but, because he actually has a deep story behind each one, they help him hone his judgement in specific scenarios.
Excellent article Paul.
I agree with your take on the contrast of self-help books. I thought 'The 5am Club' was one of the worst self-help books ever written—exceptionally trite—yet I agreed with some of the principles behind it. It worked for me, but I can't say it will work for everyone. Others might simply be better suited to a later start or get their creativity at night (My Mum was always best working into the night.)
I'm always drawn more to books where psychology is at play. 'Never Split the Difference' is a great example with practical skills that have real value. My favourite is Daniel Kahneman's 'Thinking Fast & Slow'. His entire life's work in one book. Incredibly powerful and insightful. Something I return to a lot.
Ideas are not useful as abstract entities. There must be scope for practice, Aand readers must have the willingness and curiosity to experiment. Gandhiji called his Autobiography, an experiment in truth.Self-help books are useful only when they provide workable solutions. Platitudes are of no use. At least, there must be incremental benefit.
P P Sarma
“In this regard, reading these books is similar to therapy (or, to put it differently, maybe reading them is a form of therapy.)” - This is really well said and I think true.
Haha! What a great and hilarious little ditty of an article!
Thanks Paul: My mind is very structured and I think in processes and whole person psychology. Most of what I read in self help books is from name psychologists like yourself - usually professors. If the subject matter seems relevant to moving me forward in exploration, then I learn it, sleep on it, and recall and reflect over a week or two. If it doesn't feel good in a trial and error methodology then I reject and erase it from my mind. For example if it produces anxiety or trouble sleeping or dreaming. This is how I explore with self-direction and discovery. This heuristic methodology requires consistency and an open mind. Historically, I found these processes greatly help especially if one is working with a therapist....This trial and error approach helped me move from managing schizophrenia to thriving and flourishing.......
Thank you for this wonderful confession. I share your passion for the genre and have long wondered why so many intellectuals distance themselves from it. I suspect a form of „willing suspension of disbelief“ distinguishes self-help. Those who read self-help books enjoy relief from the skeptical attitude of the academic world. For once, they’re not critical, differentiated, and balanced but allow themselves to be helped and celebrate unbroken unambiguity for the duration of the reading, although they secretly know, of course, that most arguments lack evidence, and one could see things quite differently.
Great read, Paul. I'd love to hear more about the point about reflection sometimes messing things up. That's such a finding! Such interesting possible implications. If you ever write a post on it one day, I'd love to read it!
80mph fastball? Man. The game has definitely changed. :)
My book reading process is similar, but it's more like a rabbit hole. I read about someone or something in one book and want to know more so continue down that path with another book. It's how I eventually got to your books.
I mostly read to find more motivations and distractions to keep me from drowning in nihilism, but like you I stumble onto tidbits and strategies that help me in day-to-day activities, like work and raising a family...and I agree about Oliver Burkeman's book(s) - one of the best.
I wonder if acts of kindness are more effective when they facilitate real social interaction, sort of bridging the evidence gap between these two interventions?
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2022.2154695