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Mars and Venus in the Workplace: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting Results at Work

Name: Mars and Venus in the Workplace: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting Results at Work
Author: John Gray
ISBN: 9780641633973

by John Gray, John Gray (Read by)

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Overview

John Gray claims that by understanding the differences between men and women in the workplace anyone can identify and respond to various business approaches in a manner that earns greater respect and promotes increased cooperation. By recognizing how men and women interpret behaviors and reactions differently, a person can make more informed choices about how to make the best impression.

Mars and Venus in the Workplace analyzes the differences in the ways men and women communicate, solve problems, react to stress, earn respect, promote themselves, experience emotional support, minimize conflict, score points, and ask for what they want. By showing the many ways men and women misunderstand and misinterpret each other in the workplace, John Gray offers practical advice on reducing unnecessary conflict and frustration. Filled with his trademark communications charts and practical advice on everyday office issues, Mars and Venus in the Workplace will enable readers to achieve their goals and make the workplace a source of fulfillment.

About the Author, John Gray

John Gray, Ph.D., an internationally recognized expert in the fields of communication and relationships, and the author of twelve bestsellers, has been conducting personal-growth seminars for thirty years. He is a Certified Family Therapist (National Academy for Certified Family Therapists), a consulting editor of the Family Journal, a member of the Distinguished Advisory Board of the international Association of Marriage and Family Counselors, and a member of the American Counseling Association. John lives with his wife and three children in Northern California.

Biography

To those well versed in therapy-speak and the self-help world, the name John Gray can provoke some eye-rolling and sarcasm: Men are from Mars, women are from Venus. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We genders need to "learn" to "communicate."

What's remarkable is Gray's role in making this concept so well known. In 1992, when Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus was published, the idea was anything but pedestrian. Indeed, Gray sparked both revolution and debate in the world of gender politics.

His case is simple: "Men mistakenly expect women to think, communicate, and react the way men do; women mistakenly expect men to feel, communicate, and respond the way women do. We have forgotten that men and women are supposed to be different. As a result our relationships are filled with unnecessary friction and conflict," he wrote in the first chapter of Men Are from Mars. Though the idea is not radical, the implication met with criticism from feminists who said that it tried to reinforce stereotypes; and with accolades from stricken couples who found that Gray did, in fact, help them communicate and understand each other better.

Though naysayers have called into question both Gray's message and his credentials, his appeal is undeniable. Word-of-mouth has proved strong enough to drive sales of Gray's book and its companions -- targeted at everyone from dating singles to coworkers -- into bestsellerdom, with the first title alone selling more than 15 million copies. He has also become a cottage industry of gender relations, with seminars, media appearances, and audio titles bolstering his books.

Gray's style tends to be simple and direct, with analogies along the lines of the title: "Men Are like Blowtorches, Women Are like Ovens" and "Men Pursue and Women Flirt" are typical chapter headers. For those mired in the tricky morass of dealing with the opposite sex, the author's no-nonsense approach is appealing.

In 1999, Gray departed from his relationships milieu to the broader palette of life fulfillment with the parenting guide Children Are from Heaven and How to Get What You Want and Want What You Have, a guide to achieving success while bolstering one's spiritual life via meditation and awareness of worldly challenges. It's a strong statement coming from someone who lived for several years as a monk, but Gray's strong suit with readers remains his relationship tomes. Since the original Mars/Venus title, he has created a franchise that now straddles the realms of love and personal success. His advice obviously rings true with millions of readers.

Good To Know

Gray lives with his wife and three children. He was formerly married to self-help author Barbara De Angelis; the two divorced in 1984.

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus was made into a musical stage comedy that opened in Las Vegas. It has also been translated into more than 40 languages.

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Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

Whether you're an assistant, a CEO, a technician, or a team manager, you've realized that personal dynamics, like it or not, affect the bottom line. And author John Gray asserts that "nowhere in the workplace do our differences show up more dramatically than in the area of communication." From water cooler chat to problem solving, everyday interactions, and getting promoted, the contrasting languages of Martians and Venusians no longer need remain a stumbling block on the path to success. Becoming fluent in your neighbors' "alien" language is a practical, easy and effective way to increase productivity, enhance the work environment and pave the way to professional fulfillment and achievement.

Publishers Weekly

Gray made a splash with his bestselling Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, attributing stereotypical traits to each gender and advising the other how best to respond to or work around these characteristics. Building on that theory, Gray claims that "men and women think, feel, and communicate differently in the workplace," and applies his hypothesis to the business environment. As in his previous books, Gray's writing style is repetitive, bolstering a few simple ideas with plenty of generalizing and gender clich s. While alleging that the traits he assigns to men and women are innate rather than learned or cultural describing them as driven by "instinct," "basic nature" and "a function of one's level of testosterone" he offers no proof of this theory, simply assuming that his audience trusts his presumptions. Many of Gray's sweeping statements don't ring true, e.g., his assertions that men don't mind being interrupted while women do, or that women care about relationships, not competence, where they work. Gray does offer some generic, useful advice, such as keeping personal emotions out of the workplace while making sure that one's personal life provides stress relief and opportunities for self-expression. In identifying common personality types and traits, though, Gray might have simply said that some people are Venusians while others are Martians, instead of using tiresome gender stereotypes. While he's unlikely to win new converts with this rehash of his now familiar material, Gray's faithful fans will not be disappointed. Agent, Linda Michaels. (Feb.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.