Dear Crucial Skills, Recently our company moved some services “offshore” BUT (proudly) we have been able to retain the jobs of all current employees. Unfortunately, there is one employee who appears extremely negative about this situation and has been sending “negative” e-mails about it. We want this attitude and negativity to stop because it seems …

If you’re experiencing racial slurs, enduring sexual harassment, or are a daily witness to other degrading behaviors at work, don’t settle, sue, or quit. Fix the silly but commonly held belief that your only choice is between taking it and quitting. Joseph Grenny offers three helpful steps for dealing with the problem. He suggests adopting …

Dear Crucial Skills, Any pointers on a conversation that should have happened many years ago? I’m interested in asking my mother why she was so angry when we (the children) were young. When I say angry, I do mean physically abusive. I have done a lot of personal work and am almost (honestly, almost) past …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kerry Patterson is coauthor of four bestselling books, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE   Dear Crucial Skills, What does a manager do when a job has outgrown the employee? In this age of rapid growth, often the job a person was hired to do is no longer …

You’re seated across from an interviewer who is waiting to be impressed. What will make you stand out from the herd? Well, like it or not, it probably won’t be your academic record. Your resume is also a feature that can only serve to eliminate you if you haven’t done it well. Grades, classes, and …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is coauthor of four bestselling books, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, I just found out that another manager in the same profession but with less qualifications and a smaller job is making $14,000 more than I am. If I confront my boss, …

As you watch people who thrive under horrendous pressure, you quickly discover their source of strength. They don’t thrive because they experience stress, squeeze a beanbag, and then fall back into control. Most don’t feel stress in the first place. Why is that? Because they know how to handle crucial conversations. When facing an apparent …

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is coauthor of four bestselling books, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, How do I approach someone who seems to think I’m an idiot? I am the Director of Finance in my organization. I am a CPA. One of my functions is to …

Dear Joseph, We have a secretary to a director who is a control freak. She comes across as very efficient to management, but she won’t allow the rest of us to do our jobs without meddling. This slows me and others down a lot. Those of us who have attempted to confront her about this …

Dear Crucial Skills, In my organization, I keep hearing that senior management does not empower middle management and that middle management does not empower the front line workers. How can Crucial Conversations help every level feel more empowered? Signed, Seeking Power Dear Seeking Power, When the empowerment movement became popular in the mid 80s, the …