“...[F]or it is those who employ a unique blend of reason and feeling who achieve the greatest results” (14) write Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, in this easy-read how-to book on emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is simply being intelligent about emotions, and Bradberry and Greaves write to show the reader how to develop one’s EQ for increased success in all areas of life. Unlike IQ (intelligence quotient) which remains inflexible (genetically predetermined at conception) EQ (“emotional quotient” better know as “emotional intelligence”) can be learned and developed (25).

What is emotional intelligence? It’s that intangible ability within us that “defines how we “manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that achieve positive results” (24). One can be very intelligent but fail miserably at managing his own and other’s emotions, leaving his life a wreck. The authors cite numerous examples of promising 4.0 students who go nowhere in life and others with a much lower IQ who soar because of their ability to manage their own emotions and work with others. “Emotional intelligence is a product of how well you understand yourself and those around you” (156).

The authors break emotional intelligence into four skills: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management (23). The first two address one’s own self management, the other two one’s ability to interact and work with others.

The authors observe,

The four emotional intelligence skills tend to pair up under two primary competencies: personal competence and social competence. Personal competence is a result of your self-awareness and self-management skills. It’s your ability to stay aware of your emotions and manage your behavior and tendencies. Social competence is result of your social awareness and relationship management skills. It’s your ability to understand other people’s behavior and motives and manage your relationships (27).

The authors define emotional intelligence (chapter 1), shows it’s impact (chapter 2), offer an online self evaluation tool (chapters 3-4), explain how to increase emotional intelligence (chapters 5-6), and demonstrate how to use it to successfully in life (chapters 7-8).

“It’s so critical to success,” they write, “that it accounts for 60 percent of performance in all types of jobs. It’s the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence” (52). As Dale Carnegie said, “When dealing with people, remember that you are not dealing with creatures of logic but creatures of emotion” (103) The authors observe that all emotions are derivations of five core feelings: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and shame (94). Bradberry and Jean deliver astounding statistics, such as the fact that people experience an average of 27 emotions each waking hour. “With nearly 17 waking hours each day, you have about 456 emotional experiences from the time you get up until the time you go to bed. This means that more than 3,000 emotional reactions guide you through each week and more than 150,000 each year! Of all the emotions you will experience in your lifetime, nearly two million of them will happen during working hours” (121).

The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book can be read in two hours and illustrates its theme repeatedly with examples and stories. For someone looking for a quick way to increase his EQ and apply it immediately, this book is ideal. For someone looking for a more technical approach to EQ with research to back it up, Goleman and Boyatzis’ 306 page Primal Leadership will deliver. For a book that draws on a fair amount of research but remains intensely practical, Stein and Book’s The EQ Edge, is an excellent balance.

Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves. The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book: Everything You Need to Know to Put Your EQ to Work. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005. 185 pp.