Chapter 2. The Reptiles versus the Mammals

Dichotomies are deeply embedded in human thought and traditions of all kinds. We love to think and talk in terms of black and white. Women are from Venus, men are from Mars. Liberals versus conservatives. Main Street and Wall Street. Good versus evil. Hard and soft. Us and them. Yin and yang. Want more? Try internal versus external, stability versus change, freedom and control.

Consider politics: Is government the problem or the solution? Does preemptive war increase our security or decrease it? Consider religion: the inclusive, ecumenical, change-embracing branches of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam versus the exclusive, isolationist, preservationist branches of each faith. Even in the institutional ...

Get The Nature of Leadership: Reptiles, Mammals, and the Challenge of Becoming a Great Leader now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.