Focusing on the essential uncertainty of participating in evolving events as they happen, this book considers the creative possibilities of such participation from a complexity perspective.

Focusing on the essential uncertainty of participating in evolving events as they happen, this book considers the creative possibilities of such participation from a complexity perspective.

Talk is powerful. Engaging in the right conversation at the right time is key to both personal and organizational success. And it isn’t just ‘difficult’ conversations that matter. The Four Conversations clearly demonstrates it is the everyday dialogue we have with one another that is critical. Armed with a solid body of research and their own first-hand observations, Jeffrey and Laurie Ford identify four types of conversations that every one of us must use to get things done: initiative conversations to introduce something new; understanding conversations to help people relate to new ideas or processes; performance conversations to request specific actions and results; and closure conversations to complete work and give people a sense of accomplishment . They identify the specific elements that make each of these conversations successful and show how they can be put together in different ways to achieve different objectives. The Four Conversations demonstrates how to use the right conversation at the right time—planning and starting each one well, and finishing every conversation effectively—to produce the results we want and the improved productivity our organizations need. And through dozens of personal stories and sample dialogues, the authors illustrate how real people in real situations have used the four conversations, either alone or in combination, to more effectively combat common workplace problems and lay the foundations for enduring success: stronger relationships, better buy-in, and a greater feeling of personal and professional achievement for everyone.

Discover the Proven “Low Drama, High Joy” Method for Productive, Empathy-Based Communication and Collaboration. Why do so many organizations, teams, couples, families, and groups who should be working together end up wasting energy on unproductive conflict? Even when everyone has the same general goals, what’s often missing is a deeper alignment based on mutual trust, respect, and empathy. With Radical Alignment, top-level life and business coaches (and happily married couple) Alexandra Jamieson and Bob Gower share their potent method for helping groups to stop clashing and start working together—to jump from “we can’t” to an enthusiastic “hell yes!” The essential tool at the heart of Radical Alignment is the All-In Method: a four-step approach to communication designed to increase clarity, minimize miscommunication, honor each person’s individuality, and build a shared sense of trust and respect for long-term success. With easy-to-follow instruction, Jamieson and Gower bring you: • The Foundations of Great Communication—what works, what doesn’t, and how to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your own style • The All-In Method—a step-by-step walk-through of this proven approach to getting into radical alignment with others • The Method in Action—examples and exercises for using the All-In Method at work, at home, and in any situation • Scripts, suggestions, guidance, and additional resources for making this a lifelong practice for greater connection and intimacy “We believe passionately that the world needs more aligned teams in our businesses, organizations, communities, families, and intimate partnerships,” write the authors. “This means we need people who are able to have powerful and clear exchanges that build better connections.” Radical Alignment brings you a “low drama, high joy” technique to transform the way you collaborate and communicate in every area of your life.

“A must read for anyone in business, government or academia. The lessons Hayashi teaches are all too often taken for granted. This work distills a lifetime of experience into easily understood actions that can benefit us all.”–Joseph Major, Chairman and CEO, The Victory Bank Key Conversations for Positive Change--SAY IT RIGHT FOR BUSINESS AND CAREER SUCCESS Whether you’re trying to motivate a team, negotiate a contract, make a sale, ask for a raise, land a new job, or terminate an employee, the conversations you have will either help you succeed or undermine your goals. Communication expert and leadership coach Shawn Kent Hayashi has spent more than two decades studying how the things people say impact their business and professional lives. In her new book CONVERSATIONS FOR CHANGE: 12 Ways to Say It Right When It Matters Most, she not only identifies the twelve most important types of conversations people have, but shows readers how to reach their maximum potential by using these conversations effectively. Hayashi identifies the 12 types of conversations that are vital for growth and success--not just in business but in every area of your life. In order to communicate well you must first master three fundamentals. These are: Building emotional intelligence Understanding workplace motivators Recognizing and adapting to communication styles Readers of CONVERSATIONS FOR CHANGE, can take a free, self assessment at www.WhenTheConversationChanges.com to identify their personal communication style. This is the book that shows you how to: Simplify your message--without oversimplifying it Reduce tensions between you and your listener Quickly recognize and choose the most effective interpersonal communication techniques Be flexible and resilient while staying focused on your objective Choose the right phrases for any situation Use timing to your best advantage

Conversation-powered leadership How can leaders make their big or growing companies feel small again? How can they recapture the “magic”—the tight strategic alignment, the high level of employee engagement—that drove and animated their organization when it was a start-up? As more and more executives have discovered in recent years, the answer to this conundrum lies in the power of conversation. In Talk, Inc., Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind show how trusted and effective leaders are adapting the principles of face-to-face conversation in order to pursue a new form of organizational conversation. They explore the promise of conversation-powered leadership—from the time-tested practice of talking straight (and listening well) to the thoughtful adoption of social media technology. And they offer guidance on how to balance the benefits of open-ended talk with the realities of strategic execution. Drawing on the experience of leaders at diverse companies from around the world, Talk, Inc., offers provocative insights and user-friendly tips on how to make organizational culture more intimate, more interactive, more inclusive, and more intentional—in short, more conversational.

Drawing on the theoretical foundations laid out in earlier volumes of this series, this book describes an approach to organizational change and development that is informed by a complexity perspective. It clarifies the experience of being in the midst of change. Unlike many books that presume clarity of foresight or hindsight, the author focuses on the essential uncertainty of participating in evolving events as they happen and considers the creative possibilities of such participation. Most methodologies for organizational change are firmly rooted in systems thinking, as are many approaches to process consultation and facilitation. This book questions the suggestion that we can choose and design new futures for our organizations in the way we often hope. Avoiding the widely favoured use of two by two matrices, idealized schemas and simplified typologies that characterize much of the management literature on change, this book encourages the reader to live in the immediate paradoxes and complexities of organizational life, where we must act with intention into the unknowable. The author uses detailed reflective narrative to evoke and elaborate on the experience of participating in the conversational processes of human organizing. It asserts that possibilities are perpetually sustained and changed by the conversational life of organizations. This book will be valuable to consultants, managers and leaders, indeed all those who are dissatisfied with idealized models of change and are searching for ways to develop an effective change practice.