Dear Al, Your advice, as well as the many cues I took from Crucial Conversations and Crucial Confrontations, were extremely helpful to me as I sat down with the headmaster. I did dismiss him, but as you suggested, we gave him a more than generous severance package and I continue to be a reference for …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kerry Patterson is coauthor of four bestselling books, Change Anything, Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, In Crucial Confrontations, you give an example of teens parking in your parking spot, and although you pleasantly ask them to stop, they don’t. Unless I missed it, the book …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ron McMillan is coauthor of three bestselling books, Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations. His fourth book, Change Anything, was recently published. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, My in-laws live six hours away, but frequently visit and stay at my home. They have a wonderful relationship with my three young children, but …
Dear Crucial Skills, I work in a large international company and lead a team of eight experienced human resource managers. Several of the managers use irony and humor to downplay their colleagues, and I strongly feel that this creates a bad atmosphere because most of the colleagues do not appreciate this way of talking. Should …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Todd King is a Master Trainer and Senior Consultant at VitalSmarts. READ MORE How do you handle a crucial conversation/crucial confrontation with somebody who is a really difficult, or even malicious, person? Great question! We should first define “difficult” and “malicious.” Likely we are talking about some form of silence or violence …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Al Switzler is coauthor of three bestselling books, Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations. His fourth book, Change Anything, will be available April 2011. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, I am the president and chairman of a large private school. I recently came on as the president and found the school …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is coauthor of three bestselling books, Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations. His fourth book, Change Anything, will be available April 2011. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, I live in a very nice, quiet, upscale suburban neighborhood. A new family recently moved into one of the homes and is doing …
Dear Crucial Skills, My boss and I have weekly one-on-ones to stay up to date on ongoing projects and initiatives. However, more often than not, my boss uses this time to gossip about her subordinates, coworkers, and superiors. On occasion, I ask, “What does this have to do with me?” but it never ends well, …
Dear Crucial Skills, I am caught in the middle of a situation with two difficult employees. One of the employees with an animated temperament feels like she can’t talk to her overly-sensitive coworker. Every time she brings up crucial issues, her coworker either denies them or cries. The ‘sensitive’ coworker rarely comes to me with …
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is the author of three bestselling books, Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, Our employee, “Mr. Ned,” will turn 70 in September after working for us for 17 years. He has been one of our most productive employees and a model for the younger technicians …
