Monday, May 30, 2005

Crucial Conversations by several people

Authors: Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler

Well... it was okay. I just find myself rolling my eyes at most self-help books, and this is no exception. I would never have chosen to read it, but it was supervisor-required reading, so I read it. It has some good advice on communication, but the tone is very condenscending, which is an odd choice for a book that is all about how to communicate. I'm afraid I couldn't overlook the tone - I spend the entire book cringing and critical because of it. However, if you can overlook that foolish choice of the authors, it really does have some good info.

It discusses how to not be defensive and focus on what your endgame is. It helps you identify how you sabotage conversations, making them ineffective. Like I said, it really is good stuff. It was just presented unpleasantly.

So... mostly recommended.

1 comment:

Erin said...

Tonya, I've heard of this one - I think my dad read it and liked some of what it contained. I haven't read it yet, but I'm putting it on my list.