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In Jared Diamond’s followup to the PulitzerPrize winning Guns, Germs and Steel, the author explores how climate change, the population explosion and political discord create the conditions for the collapse of civilizationEnvironmental damage, climate change, globalization, rapid population growth, and unwise political choices were all factors in the demise of societies around the world, but some found solutions and persisted. As in Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond traces the fundamental pattern of catastrophe, and weaves an allencompassing global thesis through a series of fascinating historicalcultural narratives. Collapse moves from the Polynesian cultures on Easter Island to the flourishing American civilizations of the Anasazi and the Maya and finally to the doomed Viking colony on Greenland. Similar problems face us today and have already brought disaster to Rwanda and Haiti, even as China and Australia are trying to cope in innovative ways. Despite our own society’s apparently inexhaustible wealth and unrivaled political power, ominous warning signs have begun to emerge even in ecologically robust areas like Montana.
[...]... cortisol at work Cortisol makes people feel anxious and worried, and that undercuts strength Skeptics Most of us recognize and respect people who project traditional strength signals We are impressed by people who show talent, whether it is navigating around a race course or navigating around a room Most people perceive dominant people as more credible than submissive people The very act of asserting... their common interest in individualism and not caring what anyone else thinks She showed no interest in what other people thought either, and yet she drew people to her cause People loved her books, recognized her strength, and wanted to be on her team She projected so much strength that people were drawn to it, and they came to see themselves as sharing interests with her This is how great strength... Middle Eastern, or maybe just deeply tanned southern European These people are often highly sought after by advertisers as models and spokespeople because people of many backgrounds can see them projecting the warmth of shared ethnicity Racial or ethnic groups often have more than one stereotype associated with them As we get to know more people from a group, we are more likely to have a mix of positive... meeting each other more formally for the first time What do those conversations sound like? When people of different races talk, each group is often concerned about addressing their stereotypical shortcomings White people want to be viewed as likable and moral, while people of other ethnicities want respect White people understand that their socially privileged position generally checks the box on strength,... reality People who take this view to heart cultivate strength as a virtue, seeing it as the only way to defend what they value from the darkness of anarchy or tyranny Strength can make people powerful, influential, and important After all, strength is about getting things done But there are things it cannot do Strength alone can coerce, but it cannot lead Strength for its own sake is a corrosive force People. .. the social realm, things get more complicated, because people exert their will on others, who in turn exert their will right back As social creatures, we are surrounded by people seeking to impose their will upon us in ways large and small, from family members wanting favors to work colleagues wanting special treatment to hucksters wanting our money People who are not comfortable asserting themselves... idiosyncrasies As we mentioned earlier, some people are skeptical of traditional displays of strength, suspecting weakness behind the bluster Faced with a friendly salesperson, some people will appreciate the cheerfulness, but others will feel put off and prefer to be left alone In either case, everyone recognizes the traditional strength and warmth signals, but some people do not see the salesperson as particularly... see how we could be more effective in dealing with people It shows us why a lot of our life experience depends on whether we hit that quadrant of high strength and high warmth—or if we miss, in what direction we fall short The upper-right corner is clearly the place to be People there are on our team, and they are the best players This is where the people we call “charismatic” hang out There is not... concerns and will on people within the blast zone It makes people sit up and take notice, if not cower and obey It can be an appropriate and effective way to display strength, but when it does not seem warranted it definitely undermines warmth It is also important to note that while the whole point of anger is to display strength, excessive anger can also signal weakness: Angry people are by definition... When we spend time getting to know people as individuals, they have the opportunity to demonstrate their character as individuals If they do not fit their group’s stereotypes, those category associations just fade away This is different from stereotype violation, where people we do not know well violate our preconceived ideas of how the world works When we get to know people, if they project strength . alt="" COMPELLING PEOPLE COMPELLING PEOPLE THE HIDDEN QUALITIES THAT MAKE US INFLUENTIAL John Neffinger and Matthew Kohut COPYRIGHT Published by Piatkus ISBN: 97 8-0 -3 4 9-4 030 7-6 Copyright © John Neffinger. dominant characters: the bullies and the know-it-alls. These people think their way is the only right way, and they steamroll everyone else, not by praising people who do things their way, but by making. of decades later, four working-class lads from Liverpool took the world by storm. They were pop stars who led the growth of rock ’n’ roll from two-minute boy-meets-girl ditties to more expansive