ABOUT THE AUTHOR Al Switzler is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE   Dear Crucial Skills, My 16-year-old daughter survived the grueling tryout process and was made drum major of the marching band. Naturally, she was elated; but then she asked “What am I …

Dear Crucial Skills, I was wondering if you could address how to make it safe to discuss something when certain answers really are going to result in very bad consequences? I understand the need to master my stories, but sometimes the truthful answer is the one with negative consequences. For example: You suspect an employee …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ron McMillan is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Authors, How do I handle a constant complainer? I have an employee who has worked for the company for thirty years. She’s a great employee but is always complaining—mainly about all …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Authors, A few years ago I interviewed a woman for a specific job which she didn’t get. Two years later she interviewed me for a job that I did receive. I …

Dear Crucial Skills, I’m faced with having to fire someone for the first time in my career. What advice would you give on handling this very crucial conversation? Signed, Hesitating Dear Hesitating, Firing someone is never easy. It shouldn’t be. Whenever someone is unilaterally separated from his or her income stream, it’s likely to cause …

Dear Crucial Skills, I would like to ask about dealing with workplace bullying, and how middle managers handle it from the top? New York State just adopted a bill to address workplace bullying, which has become the “new” harassment “just under the waterline” methodology. I would love to hear from you and would offer that …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ron McMillan is coauthor of four bestselling books, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE The following article was first published on July 14, 2004. Dear Crucial Skills, What do you do when you don’t know for sure what the problem is? All you know is that there is …

Dear Crucial Skills, What if you know you blew it in a crucial conversation, know you should go back and clean up the mess, but you don’t want to? What if you are too angry/hurt to say you’re sorry without feeling like a hypocrite for saying it because how you really feel is angry and …

Dear Crucial Skills, I work in a cubicle environment and sit next to a man who has a personal hygiene problem that is very hard to ignore. He’s a peer of mine—should I address this issue? And if so, how do I do it appropriately? He’s infamous in the office—everyone knows it seems, except him! …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Al Switzler is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Authors, I recently found out that someone who was a confidante and a friend has been speaking badly about me to our mutual mentor. My relationship with this mentor has been …