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Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life, One Conversation at a Time [Hardcover]

Susan Scott (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)


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Book Description

September 12, 2002
Fierce Conversations is a way of conducting business. An attitude. A way of life. Susan Scott has spent sixteen years training clients in the art of fierce conversations, empowering them to achieve exceptional results through successful communication. Now she brings her expertise to readers everywhere.

Fierce Conversations illuminates the path to a new degree of authenticity, a new way of expressing who you are and what you believe, as a person and a leader. In it, Scott explains the keys to regularly engaging in frontier conversations with yourself, colleagues, customers, friends, family, and the unknown future emerging around you.

Fierce Conversations teaches you how to:

*overcome barriers to meaningful conversation
* master the courage and skill to interrogate reality-yours and others'
* obey your instincts in every conversation
* confront tough issues with courage, confidence, and care
* inspire followers, attract believers, and build visions that become reality
* leverage new skills for frictionless debate
* handle strong emotions-your own as well as others'
* operate from a base of authentic self-knowledge
* enrich your most challenging relationships
* build breakthrough relationships with colleagues, clients, friends, and family

Having mastered the principles and practice of courageous, transformative dialogue, you will begin to change your life-one conversation at a time.

"A rare and delightful blend of stimulating ideas and practical advice. Exciting and well written, Fierce Conversations is the perfect gift for anyone you care about, and above all yourself! This is a book you'll treasure and, I predict, will want to reread often." (Sheldon Bowles, co-author of Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization)

"When the authentic conversations so clearly described in this book book catch on everywhere, it will be the end of gossip, corporate politics, bad marriages, and 360o feedback. Fierce Conversations is today's primer for success as well as for survival in our ever-changing world." (Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D., Harry Paul, and John Christensen, co-author Fish! and Fish! Tales)

"Susan Scott delivers a wealth of uncommon common sense in Fierce Conversations. Her warmth and skill as coach and counselor provide the healthy nudges we all need from time to time to jump in, get engaged, and manage ourselves and the world around us more directly, positively and productively. It's a reminder that 'the way out is through,' and she provides great techniques for navigating the passage." (David Allen, President of David Allen & Co. and author of Getting Things Done

"If conversations are the lifeblood of our most important relationships, this book is a transfusion of ideas and inspiration. Susan Scott has written a life-affirming primer for moving us toward the conversations we need to have most." (Doug Stone, co-author of Difficult Conversations)

"The path to a fierce conversation is lined with the velvet words of wisdom of Susan Scott. Her deep insights artfully show us how most life problems can be solved or dissolved with a fierce conversation." (Arielle Ford, President of the Ford Group and author of Magical Souvenirs: True Spiritual Adventures From Around the World)

"I was captivated by this magnificent book right from the start. Fierce Conversations insightfully captures and clearly interrogates the heart of 'real' conversation. Spending time with Susan Scott's principles has the potential to make a significant difference in our work, our relationships, and in our understanding of ourselves." (Richard Carr, President & CEO, TEC International)

"Susan Scott is the master teacher of positive change through powerful communication." (Peter Neill, Executive Director, AT&T Wireless)

"I love this book. What a refreshing departure from typical management superficialities! Susan Scott zeros in brilliantly, and charmingly, on the single most important activity of management and leadership-engagement through conversation-and she does it not by offering simplistic techniques, but by fostering what people appreciate most in their managers-genuineness. A must read for managers certainly-and for anyone who cares about improving relationships." (Richard Farson, President, Western Behavioral Sciences Institute, and co-author of Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins: The Paradox of Innovation

"Susan Scott's emphasis on authentic communications, like all good therapy, directs readers to become conscious of their inner conflicts. She encourages readers to reach for their more authentic growth tendencies and ultimately to seek the rewards of self-actualization. She quite accurately directs readers to recognize that life's distress is often the result of inauthenticity. She builds a strong case and provides helpful tools for becoming more authentic." (Stephen M. Pfeiffer, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist and Executive Director of the Association for the Advancement of Psychology)

"A fierce convesation propels you from your mind into your guts, giving you the strength and confidence to make rapid and insightful decisions." (Victor Villasenor, author of Rain of Gold)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Susan Scott believes that interpersonal difficulties--at work and at home--are a direct result of our inability to communicate well. Fierce Conversations is based on principles from her international consulting practice, in which she teaches executives how to conduct such exchanges more dynamically and ultimately more effectively, thereby improving the relationships they enjoy with their various dialogue partners "one conversation at a time." Using identifiable anecdotes from her experience to inspire and inform, along with a series of practical exercises designed to impart the requisite skills, Scott walks readers through the individual steps she's developed to build better associations through more robust and honest discourses. Addressing all aspects of the process, from several methods for listening more attentively to specific ways she's fashioned to confront and resolve issues "that stand between you and success," Scott offers the type of concrete advice and confidence-building counsel that should help even the most reticent improve their communication skills dramatically. --Howard Rothman

From Publishers Weekly

An offshoot of Scott's international consulting firm, Fierce Conversations Inc., this book lasts as long as a Monday morning shuttle. Yet its thesis, that relationships both professional and personal hinge on how conversations go, and that the best conversations require determinedly gentle honesty and a willingness to listen, lingers long enough to make an impact. "It takes a certain fearlessness to make your private thoughts public. But if what you're thinking makes you squirm and wish to wriggle away, you are probably onto something," she says. On the book's Web site, a streaming-video talk feels fake and rehearsed. But Scott's written words contain substance and, as an author, she's levelheaded and funny. She quotes a wide variety of writers, from Ernest Hemingway to Maya Angelou to Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and clearly explains her key concepts, including "obey your instincts" and "let silence do the heavy lifting." Careerist marketing ploy it may be, but this cleanly written, if cliche-laden, book boasts enough psychological sensitivity to merit success. Those whose conversations with co-workers or family members aren't producing the results they want will find plenty of helpful tools and assignments in this succinct guide.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Group / Viking Studio (September 12, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0670031240
  • ISBN-13: 978-0670031245
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ABOUT SUSAN
Susan Scott is a two-time best-selling author and recognized thought leader in the global business community. Susan and her company, Fierce, Inc., are committed to large-scale and individual transformation through the principles and models set forth in Susan's books and her company's corporate training programs.

ABOUT FIERCE
Fierce, Inc. is a global leadership development and training company focused on developing conversation as a skill to drive measurable results for business and education. Fierce helps clients worldwide develop leaders, transform cultures, and create authentic, energizing and rewarding connections with colleagues and customers through skillful conversations.

Tailored to any organization, Fierce principles and methods translate across the globe, ensure individual and collective success, and develop skills that are practical, easy-to-use and can be applied immediately.

 

Customer Reviews

68 Reviews
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4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:
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1 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (68 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 104 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars How to get to the heart of the matter through conversation, August 9, 2004
Susan Scott has written an outstanding book on how to use everyday conversation to cut through the politics of work relationships and start talking about what we are all "pretending not to know". I was consistently impacted while reading it, not so much that the material is brand new, but that it is presented in such a way that the opportunities and misses of my own interactions were obvious.

One of the topics discussed is called "Mineral Rights", a type of conversation designed to get deep, past the surface and into the truth of what is going on. The approach accomplishes four purposes: Interrogate reality, provoke learning, tackle tough challenges, and enrich relationships. It has been my experience that this rarely happens in corporate America, and is rarer still where I work now. The book uses examples from various companies that have identified their core values and been honest enough with themselves and others to start acting on them. The many questions posed throughout the book, and the sections at the end of each chapter are a great way to start interrogating reality in your workplace. The answers usually are "in the room" if we can really get honest and start looking for them.

In addition to some great business council, much of the book focuses on how we get honest with ourselves. Often we are the problem, and our own inability to truly understand where our own issues lie, is an essential journey to better facilitate the kind of change we want in our business or relationships. Another great approach used is the "Decision Tree" to help build empowerment in others. Communicate clearly what decisions can be made and what must be communicated to others. (Page 252). Her insights into how silence is an effective communication tool, both internally and in interactions with others, were right on.

While this was all excellent, and perhaps the most well written summary of engaging communication approaches, what was the most powerful for me were the sections on our "emotional wake". We all leave an emotional wake behind us as we engage in conversations with people. The question is, what kind of wake do we want to leave? How do we want people to feel? This served as a great wake up call for me while reading.

Overall, this book is so full of great wisdom and insights I couldn't begin to do it justice here. From the opening examples to the very useful questions in the back and the study guides throughout, I believe this to be one of the best books on business and personal communication I have read. It is both deep and practical, both academically sound and real world tested, and is written in such a way that it felt like a conversation itself. Highly recommended!
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42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars a practical, real world tool, December 27, 2002
This review is from: Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life, One Conversation at a Time (Hardcover)
Susan Scott was a corporate coach who realized that people are hungry for authentic communications. She takes the concept of authenticity and mixes it in with good leadership practice to produce a book that is filled with practical advice in one's professional and personal conversations.

I am generally put off by simple "formula" approaches to dealing with tough issues, but Scott mixes the importance of reflection and courage along with a simple structure. As a corporate consultant who was using this book as a resource, I was prepared to write it off as too "pop" or simplistic, and instead found solid reference to the importance of showing onesself, understanding the value in recognizing that each party to a conversation brings their own set of "truths," and grounding our conversations in a solid understanding of who we are and where we want to go. Furthermore, she makes a point of using listening as a key strategy for leaders -- one that is often talked about, but rarely reinforced as ably as it is here.

Some of Scott's examples are stilted and overly simplistic,she holds herself up as a model of perfection a little too often, and she ocassionally lapses into self-help verbiage that is annoying, and a distraction from a solid product. Nevertheless, for those of us who need to persuade others about the importance of authentic one-on-one communication, or for those of us who forget the magic of intense one-on-one communication with those we care about, this is worth reading and acting upon.

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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fierce as in True, September 19, 2002
By 
Frank (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life, One Conversation at a Time (Hardcover)
If we have ever needed a book like this, now is the time. Just think what could have happened at Enron, WorldCom, etc. if people had been willing to talk to each other about what was really going on? This is both a "think about this" and a "here's how to use it" book that can give people the courage and tools to tell others what they are seeing and believing. Don't be put off by the title, Fierce does not mean you get to beat everyone up - it really is an invitation to, as the author says - interrogate reality. Susan Scott does an effective job in weaving her three big ideas about conversations through the book. The ideas are simple yet powerful and can change the way we talk both to ourselves and to others. She captured me right away with the first concept; that our lives (and work) succeed or fail one conversation at a time, including those conversations we don't have. The book is an easy read. The concepts are clearly presented both in theory and with amusing stories and, best of all, there are practical tips on how to use the information. I enjoyed reading it and putting the principles into action. I'll be giving copies to friends and colleagues. This is one of those books that belongs both at home and the office.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Life is curly. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
paying fierce attention, fierce conversations, integrity outage, emotional wake, integrity scan, interrogate reality, interrogating reality, provoke learning, potent step, vessel personnel, enrich relationships, secret rule, official truth
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mineral Rights, Susan Scott, Decision Tree, Pat Murray, John Tompkins, Green Lake, James Newton
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