"A thorough and complete guide to all nine Enneagram types. Entertaining to read, filled with practical examples, The Nine Ways of Working is without a doubt one of the best if not the best Enneagram books for making our work and personal relationships deeper and more rewarding. No one in business should be without it."

-Enneagram Monthly

"Goldberg is a master of the enneagram and his book is the best in the business on business… Goldberg is so well grounded. You can follow his examples as he describes a boss going through a process in the grip of a number, sometimes getting out of it - and sometimes not. His descriptions of how a number exercises leadership, authority and influence are entirely realistic, helpful and as a bonus, rather entertaining because Goldberg is such a good writer."

-Clarence Thompson,  Enneagram Educator

"Every man, wherever he goes," wrote Bertrand Russell, "is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions that move with him like flies on a summer's day." If your boss's convictions are stifling you, take a number. An enneagram number, that is. Michael J. Goldberg, author of [The 9 Ways of Working], uses the philosophical system known as the enneagram as a tool for tailoring your actions to your boss's personality. Created by the ancient Greeks, the enneagram is today so ubiquitous that it's been taught at the Stanford School of Business.

The enneagram divides people and organizations into nine personality types, each with distinct goals and values. You might work for a Seven. Innovative and impulsive, Sevens hate grunt work and dealing with the bottom line. Working at fast-forward, they juggle several projects simultaneously and are known to double-book appointments.

Goldberg suggests concrete ways of dealing with Sevens and their loose leadership style: enforce boundaries and deadlines, embrace their enthusiasms, resist playing the heavy - Sevens avoid conflict at all costs.

Overuse the enneagram and you'll pigeonhole people. But used judiciously, it can help you understand your boss's motivations. It might even make those summer flies disappear.

James Zug, Fast Company

"Michael J. Goldberg argues that [our] daily workplace conflicts are the logical result of our failure to see our colleagues as they see themselves, to recognize that they are at heart different in fundamental ways from ourselves, and to take those differences into account when communicating, managing, leading, implementing, or just working together. Goldberg, a management consultant, presents the Enneagram as a highly effective tool to better understand and work with your colleagues.

Readers are certain to find glimpses of themselves and their co-workers (not to mention spouses, friends and aquaintances). This left me with a peculiar sense of meeting, working with, and becoming familiar with a diverse group of people I would never have gone through the trouble of getting to know. This is precisely the point the book strives to make.

Goldberg skillfully avoids outright preaching or tired appeals to diversity, and instead gives the readers exactly what they need to broaden their understanding. And hey, if a better understanding gets you that project management slot in the finance department, that's okay too."

-Matt Hoffman, Aquarius
 

"...quite solid and insightful. Author Michael Goldberg conveys a lot of information in an appealing format and in a comfortable and redable style...[including] an intriguing little appendix about the history of the enneagram and its connection with Homer's Odyssey...
"What I consistently enjoyed best, chapter to chapter, were Goldberg's unique insights into the points. He has a way of describing a behavior or motivation that inspires that little moment of "aha!"...[The 9 Ways of Working] belongs in any self-respecting enneagram library."

- Enneagram Monthly


 

"Practical steps to create a work environment of higher efficiency, clearer communication, stronger work teams and greater understanding. Goldberg's presentation is clear, concise and easy to follow. The 9 Ways of Working is a dictionary of the people with whom you work. Keep it right on your desk! "

-Canadian Manager

The Enneagram, according to the author, is a conceptual tool that defines the nine types of people: how they think, manage, make decisions, create or resolve conflicts, and so on. If used properly, it can give the perceptive employee an edge over others because she is able to treat others according to their position on the nine-point Enneagram. This book gives many suggestions on the best way to handle different types of people, as well as ways to eliminate the faults associated with one's own personality type.

-Human Resources Professional

[The 9 Ways of Working] by Michael J. Goldberg details how to improve managerial and peer relation skills as well as inner-office dynamics. Based on nine personality styles, each with different values, goals and skills, the book explains the intentions, behaviors, strengths and limitations of different individuals' world views. It also describes a methods for understanding one's own personality and then learning to consider other people's points of view. The result is improved communication and understanding among coworkers.

-Human Resource Executive

 

"An ancient perspective is brought into the modern workplace in a book about thoughts and actions of coworkers. In the book, [The 9 Ways of Working], author Michael J. Goldberg shows readers ways to improve communication and inner-office dynamics through use of the enneagram.

Based on ancient philosophic traditions, the Enneagram is an approach to people and their relationships. It describes nine basic world views and nine different ways of doing business in the world. Each of the nine personality types is something of a pathway through life, with likely obstacles and pitfalls along the way. Each style has its own natural gifts, limitations and blind spots and its own distinctive way of thinking, acting and being.

In his book, Goldberg says that use of the Enneagram in the office makes the intentions and behaviors of others understandable, allowing people to work together with power and impact. In using the Enneagram, management and staff are given practical steps to create a work environment of higher efficiency, clearer communication, stronger work teams and greater understanding.

-International Personnel Management Association News:

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"There is tremendous and continuing interest in trying to find practical ways through which people can readily categorize, describe, make sense of, and relate to each other. One such explanatory and descriptive framework is the "Enneagram". This book briefly describes some of the background heritage to the ideas of this particular approach but its main purpose is to describe the way in which these nine "personality types" can be described, relate to each other and impact on what people do, what they are like to work with, how they influence, and what it means to "be one of these" different types in practice…The book is quite interesting. It provides another way of thinking about a person's motivation and behaviour, about how they make decisions, about what they look for in life, and how they relate to others… This is a useful book to look at and the enneagram approach is worth knowing about."

-Journal of Managerial Psychology

"Tip of the Week: Have you got your boss's number? Author Michael Goldberg uses the philosophical system known as the enneagram which divides people into nine personality types. If, for example your boss is a seven - innovative but impulsive - Goldberg suggests you `enforce boundaries and deadlines, embrace their enthusiasms and resist playing the heavy - sevens avoid conflict at all costs'. "

-The Manchester Guardian

"Today The Enneagram, which defines nine basic world views and provides insight to the behavior of individuals, has been used all over the country by organizations and individuals. In [The 9 Ways of Working], management consultant Michael J. Goldberg takes the enneagram into the workplace offering insight into how people behave, relate and make decisions. Using expert direction he has already seen work for organizations such as Motorola and the CIA, Goldberg offers real solutions for everyone who wants to communicate more effectively, negotiate with power [and] stay ahead of the game."

-Operations Research/Management Science Today

"An important first step toward understanding, tolerance, and even appreciation."

-NAPRA Review