The Power of the Other

• Published date: 01 October 2016
• Author: Tom Pryor
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22195
• Date: 01 October 2016

93

© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

DOI 10.1002/jcaf.22195

The Power of the Other

Tom Pryor

BOOK REVIEWED

Cloud, Henry, 2016, The Power

of the Other (New York, NY:

HarperCollins).

If your goal is to have a

fulfilling finance and account-

ing career, reading and imple-

menting the recommendations

explained in this book will sig-

nificantly increase the odds of

your success.

“Human performance,

your performance, has its lim-

its. Or does it?” is the opening

question by author Dr. Henry

Cloud, whose PhD is in clinical

psychology. To achieve a ful-

filling finance and accounting

career will require surpassing

limits. Dr. Cloud says limits

come in two forms:

1. Known limits can be a pat-

tern, an obstacle, a leadership

dilemma or challenge, a con-

ict with a person, a weak-

ness, or problem blocking the

path to a desired future.

2. Unknown limits triggered

by a desire to get better, to

grow past a current level,

to have or do more: more

potential, more prots, more

horsepower, more fun, more

meaning or more joy.

Whether known or

unknown, Dr. Cloud proposes

that the root cause as to why

you cannot exceed your limita-

tion is the lack of relationship,

or human connection. Because

so many people who choose a

finance and accounting career

are “loners,” addressing and

solving this root cause will not

be instinctive.

“Even if you eat an

unhealthy diet but are part

of a close-knit community,

you will live longer than if

you are emotionally isolated

and eat only healthy foods.”

This claim by Dr. Cloud

implies that to be successful

in a finance and account-

ing career, you cannot be a

loner. On page 21, the author

says, “Getting better is not a

solo act and not something

that you can control.” Your

own performance is either

improved or diminished by the

other people in your life, both

personal and professional.

The “meat and potatoes”

of this 240-page book is how

to make a wise choice in whom

you connect with to expand

your limits and improve your

career. According to the

author, you have four connec-

tion choices:

1. You are disconnected. You

have no real connection to

anyone. No mentor. No

condant. No advisor. Even

though someone might be

an extrovert, always around

others, they can still be dis-

connected. A sign that you

might be disconnected is

when you hear people say

about you, “What was he/

she thinking? They’re so out

of touch.” CEOs, CFOs, and

presidents are not immune

from being disconnected.

Dr. Cloud points out that

“it’s lonely at the top.”

The author relates a story

from a leadership retreat.

He asked the people attend-

ing three questions: (a)

“Doyou have someplace

where you can be 100%

honest and vulnerable?”;

(b) “Do you have anyone or

any group of people who is

totally committed to your

growth and well-being as a

leader?”; and (c) “Have you

experienced anything in the

last year that you would

say has gotten to clinical

proportions such as burn-

out ordepression?” Eighty

percent of the leaders in

attendance answered “No”

to (a)and (b) and “Yes” to