Few employees are content with a merely contractual relationship in which they exchange their time and skills for a pay-check, then go home to spend their paychecks on what their lives are really about. Most care deeply about the reputation and values of the companies they work for and would like to feel that their ability to live up to those

If you create the space, if you offer the invitation, what happens will be new and fresh, and if you are not attached to the result, it cannot be a disappointment.

Our careers, our companies, our relationships, and indeed our very lives succeed or fail, gradually, then suddenly, one conversation at a time. My first “apostrophe” arrived courtesy of Ernest Hemingway. In The Sun Also Rises, a character drinking with friends in a bar is asked, “How did you go bankrupt?” He answers, “Gradually, then suddenly.” At

Fierce conversations have four objectives, which we’ll cover in depth throughout this book, along with the meaning of “real”: 1. Interrogate reality 2. Provoke learning 3. Tackle our toughest challenges 4. Enrich relationships

“Everyone’s in-basket and out-basket are full, but I’m concerned we’re avoiding the too hard basket.”

Here’s a thought for your consideration: “In any situation, the person who can most accurately describe reality without laying blame will emerge as the leader, whether designated or not.”

Your confusion is an asset; in fact, your search for clarity may blaze a path for others.

Why is it so important to spend time conversing with ourselves? Because all conversations are with myself, and sometimes they involve other people. This is incredibly important to understand. Embracing this insight changes the way we relate to and interact with everyone in our lives. I may think I see you as you are, but in truth, I see you as I

I am successful to the degree that who I am and what I live are in alignment.