Another summer reading installment!

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most is a wonderful business book that masquerades as a self-help book. I find it particularly helpful for conversations with escalated customers, and conversations between managers and direct reports. The authors remind us that our stories combine the information available to us, our observations, interpretations, and conclusions. This is why different actors often draw different conclusions from the same event, and why the “and” stance is useful: don’t choose between the stories, embrace them both.

What else have you found helpful when talking with escalated customers?