Be Exceptional

Master the Five Traits That Set Extraordinary People Apart

By: Joe Navarro, Toni Sciarra Poynter - contributor

Narrated by: Will Damron

"Anyone pursuing success must read this book." (Chris Voss, author of Never Split the Difference)

A master class in leadership from the world’s top body-language expert.

From internationally best-selling author and retired FBI agent Joe Navarro, a groundbreaking look at the five powerful principles that set exceptional individuals apart.

Joe Navarro spent a quarter century with the FBI, pursuing spies and other dangerous criminals across the globe. In his line of work, successful leadership was quite literally a matter of life or death. Now he brings his hard-earned lessons to you. Be Exceptional distills a lifetime of experience into five principles that outstanding individuals live by:

Self-Mastery: To lead others, you must first demonstrate that you can lead yourself.

Observation: Apply the same techniques used by the FBI to quickly and accurately assess any situation.

Communication: Harness the power of verbal and nonverbal interaction to persuade, motivate, and inspire.

Action: Build shared purpose and lead by example.

Psychological Comfort: Discover the secret ingredient of exceptional individuals.

Be Exceptional is the culmination of Joe Navarro’s decades spent analyzing human behavior, conducting more than 10,000 interviews in the field, and making high-stakes behavioral assessments. Drawing upon case studies from history, compelling firsthand accounts from Navarro’s FBI career, and cutting-edge science on nonverbal communication and persuasion, this is a new type of leadership book, one that will have the power to transform for years to come.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Joe Navarro and Toni Sciarra Poynter (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Most Engaging Book

Listening to this audiobook feels like watching an interesting action movie where your eyes is glued to the screen. The way the author read this book it feels like you are James Bond in the movie and he is guiding you through the mission on being Exceptional.

Exceptional book!

The book is very easy to listen and understand. Great explanation of psychological concepts in a practical way. Too short though, I would listen more and more..

Kindly Challenging & Encouraging

This book is structured but not formulaic.
It emphasizes that being an exceptional leader is always a work in progress propelled by curiosity, caring and a desire to always be observing of the people and circumstances.

Much of the book at the start teaches that self mastery requires
a willingness to try to become keenly observant of oneself,
a willingness to understand one’s own emotional motives one’s own actions
so that
one develops a healthy self control of one’s behavior and expression of emotions.
In the first two chapters, there is encouragement to have the mindset of an apprentice so as to be consistent in self learning.

The middle section of the book focuses on effective communication that first strives to make meaningful connection before becoming transactional and learning how to take action that is well timed, ethical and takes into consideration the effects of action. Additionally, Mr. Navarro points out that action needs to be pro social, that action is beneficial, solves problems and encourages respect.

The final chapter of the book talks about how exceptional leaders acknowledge fear in the employees, the other person or entity the leader is interacting with. It is this reviewer’s opinion that there is little written about leaders acknowledging fear effectively. When the leader can acknowledge fear in a group, the leader can then provide psychological comfort, a very primal and important need that is hardwired in all humans. Without action to provide psychological comfort, fear transforms into hate. Hate is destructive and is the antithesis of taking pro social action.

The one who has the most hope
has the most influence
in stressful situations.

This last chapter of Mr. Navarro’s book is reminiscent of the theme in many of Brené Brown’s book discussing how vulnerability is key to being resilient. One has to have courage to acknowledge the presence of fear in a group. Only then and with observation can a leader provide the best type of psychological comfort.

Unlike this formally formatted review that uses third person verbiage, Mr. Navarro does a wonderful job of making this book interesting by the many stories of well known and everyday people as well as many stories of Mr. Navarro’s personal and work experiences. These stories illustrates and clarifies the ideas Mr. Navarro presents in his book.

I really enjoyed the narrator’s work with this audiobook.

Inspiring.

I loved it. I want to read it again. Very thoughtful and uplifting. Everyone should read it!

Inspiring

Loved both the content and the narration, this book was both entertaining and inspiring, we'll done !

Exceptional book on Being Exceptional

Good book with simple message. It’s not rocket science to be exceptional and everyone of us have the ability & opportunities to be. Great book at a time of no talent social media influencers,.. the really exceptional are too busy getting better at what they do. Highly recommend this book.

Excellent

This book is excellent for anyone who is looking to interact with others around them in a more effective way. Really enjoyed listening to and from work and the narrator has a very pleasing voice

Exceptional!

I've not read it listened to many books that have three potential to be life altering as this one.

Incedentaly, I just now realized that my header was the same as the name for this book. This could be Freudian but I think it's just a testimony to the quality of what Joe Navarto has written.

I highly recommend this book for anyone that wants to improve who they are in their life.

Hooked

Once I previewed, I knew this was meant for me. I recognized things in myself and others. I fully believe this has sparked an understanding in me.

Cerebral, Intuitive, Self Reflective, Insightful

Joe and Toni did an excellent job on "Be Exceptional". A very cerebral and self reflective read, the book does not drag on or loose you in its story.

I wrote down multiple quotes and insightful words Joe and Toni shared in this brilliant read. I will absolutely carry the self reflection I have discovered in this book with me throughout my lifetime.

Thank you Joe and Toni for putting in all of the brilliance and time that you have into this work of art! Will does an excellent job at narrating the story, I was very engaged throughout the whole book.

I highly reccomend "Be Exceptional" to anyone looking to be the best they can absolutely be, and how to get there. You will navigate how to embody leadership, trust within yourself, trust within others, and you will gain insight on others' thought processes, additionally how to embody the exceptional character of those you look up to, and so much more throughout this read!