Inspired by Jim Collins' seminal Good to Great, authors David Marcum and Steven Smith set out to show that ego is a negative asset and needs to be eliminated from companies as a whole. Instead, they found that ego can in fact drive a business to its greatest achievements -- if kept in check. The duo spent five years writing the book, poring over scholarly research, finding plenty of pithy quotes and a variety of real-life examples of business leaders who have lived -- and sometimes died -- by their egos. The result is egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Asset (or Most Expensive Liability) a book that hopes to show businesspeople how an ego kept under control can be their best asset. Drawing on examples as varied as Sojourner Truth to Fred Rogers to Steve Jobs, egonomics sets up an outline that tries to define the balance that exists between ego and humility.

There are four early-warning signs that an ego is becoming a person's downfall, the authors contend. First there's competition -- trying to defeat too many people ends up making you less powerful. The second sign is defensiveness, which makes you unable to listen to other people's suggestions because you're too busy protecting your own. The third early warning sign, according to Marcum and Smith, is showing too much brilliance, or the necessity of bowling people over with your own greatness. The final sign to look for is acceptance. In an attempt to gain people's respect, you can go too far and become powerless under the desire to be accepted. Wanting praise and recognition defeats your own power to succeed.

Humility, Curiosity, and Veracity
Once you recognize the problems with ego, the challenge for most successful businesspeople is to then keep their ego healthy. Marcum and Smith recommend three principles for developing a strong yet reasonable ego. There's humility. The authors define this as self-respect, or the thing that keeps people from thinking too much or too little of themselves. Humility reminds us of the good things we have done while also noting that we are far from perfect. This feeling allows us to be a little cocky while allowing others to critique our work when needed. Curiosity is that little spark inside us that makes us want to know more about a subject, even if we are already an expert. It is what drives people like Sir Richard Branson to take monthly flights on Virgin Airlines, even if he owns the company. The authors point to Branson as a great example of curiosity - even when on a plane ride, the top gun will jump up to talk to anyone on board about what they think about their experience on his airline. Veracity is the simple pursuit of the truth. Many CEOs only want to hear the truth as they see it, or they want to hear their own theories parroted back to them. This is ego in its worst form, Marcum and Smith believe. Instead, they ask readers to be open to people's candor and accept that their point of view may not be the only one out there. Each chapter dives into its subject completely and offers many examples. Particularly weighty sentences are bolded to catch your attention. The authors also end with "key points," which outline the chapter through a series of bulleted items that make for an excellent review of the subject matter.