1: Imagine being faced with a crucial conversation.

The stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong.

Still, instead of engaging in productive dialogue, you shut down or lash out.

“Rather than engaging in productive dialogue, you either shut down or push back,” Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Emily Gregory write in their classic book Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When … continue reading

1: Marion spent 25 years working for the same organization.

“I was one move away from a cabinet-level position,” he recalls.

“However, no matter how many times I applied and interviewed for such positions, I was never selected.”

Being passed over made him mad.

So, what did he do next? He started telling himself what the authors of Crucial Conversations call “clever stories.”

“Clever stories justify our actions. They conveniently … continue reading