Aside from being a remarkable macro historical book, what I find so interesting is what it can teach us about many of the interpersonal communication challenges we face today, in the 21st century. I was particulary interested in communication and interface management within and between large enterprises that: a) rely heavily on virtual teams and remote interactions b) span multiple time zones and c) deal with cross-cultural gaps.
This book provides interesting insight into the tremendous gap that exists between our physical and psychological evolution and the tragic price we pay for this gap in the form of diminished trust between people, which in turn results in limited to no collaboration, chronic escalations and overall burnout. Our “Small Talk? How about BIG Talk!” is based very much on insights from this book.
