books by Holly Weeks

books by Holly Weeks

books:

Holly Weeks

Acting Unilaterally: Bringing Balance to Difficult Conversations
Holly Weeks

Harvard Business School Press, 2008

Most people think that trust and mutual respect are the two necessary ingredients for good results in difficult conversations. Unfortunately, in hard or even toxic talks, one side often does not bring trust or respect to the conversation. If we put our attention on working toward balance, and bringing self-respect and respect for our counterpart ...

Working Blind in the "Breakdown Gap": When Misconceptions Turn Difficult Conversations Sour
Holly Weeks

Harvard Business School Press, 2008

The worst complication in tough conversations happen--unseen--in the breakdown gap between what one side intends and what the other side perceives. Oversimplifying tough conversations and the delusion of good intentions let us keep our distance from real complications--and then we can't right what was wrong. When both sides stay silent about their ...

I'm a Pig

Sarah Weeks

HarperCollins, 2005

Even fun for adults :)
My husband liked this one so much we're adding it to our library. The moral of the book is to be content with and proud of who you are no matter what. "I'm a pig. I'm a pig. And I don't give a fig, if you call me a pig cause that's what I am." What a great 1st line ...

Anatomy of Hard Talks: What Makes a Conversation Fail
Holly Weeks

Harvard Business School Press, 2008

Every difficult conversation is unique, but what separates hard talks from normal conversations is not as individual as we might think. Across the board, there are three traits--with real costs--that make difficult conversations categorically different: combat mentality, emotional loads, and being hard to read. In addition, our simple and familiar ...

Taking the Stress Out of Stressful Conversations (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition)
Holly Weeks

Harvard Business Review, 2002

Stressful conversations are unavoidable in life. In business, they can run the gamut from firing a subordinate to, curiously enough, receiving praise. But whatever the context, stressful conversations carry a heavy emotional load. Indeed, stressful conversations cause such anxiety that most people simply avoid them. Yet it can be extremely costly ...

Caught Up in Emotions: How to Handle Fear, Anger, and Embarrassment in Difficult Conversations
Holly Weeks

Harvard Business School Press, 2008

Difficult conversations stir up crucially disturbing emotions-- particularly fear, anger, and embarrassment, which combine to trap us in what the author describes as individual signature emotional states. Our own signature states replay our emotional history, often to our detriment. We can break their grip by understanding our signature states and ...

Microsimulation Modelling for Policy Analysis: Challenges and Innovations (Department of Applied Economics ...

Cambridge University Press, 2000

The editors bring together examples of microsimulation modeling that are at the frontiers of developments in the field, either because they extend the range of techniques available to modelers, or because they demonstrate new applications for established methods. This volume represents the state of the art with chapters on the use of ...

Out of Emotion's Grip: Increasing Skill--Four Tactics You Can Use to Manage Disruptive Emotions During ...
Holly Weeks

Harvard Business School Press, 2008

When handling toxic conversations, we need to add real skill to prevent our emotions from interfering. In this chapter, the author outlines four tactics that can help: finding the middle ground between emotional extremes, immunizing ourselves against thwarting ploys, changing tack, and recovering from mistakes. She uses anecdotes to illustrate how ...

Out of Combat: Changing the Game--Finding Balance in Difficult Conversations
Holly Weeks

Harvard Business School Press, 2008

Because a combat conversation is a struggle between winning and losing, it has to be unbalanced. We must change the game and move away from the combat model of difficult conversation to one with better odds of working well and inflicting less damage. We should prepare for conversations by working out our preferred outcome, preferred working ...

Failure to Communicate: How Conversations Go Wrong and What You Can Do to Right Them

Holly Weeks

Harvard Business School Press, 2008

A "satellite perspective" on how to navigate through "a conversational landscape"
As Holly Weeks explains in her introductory chapter, "This book offers a system of strategies and tactics to help us navigate the treacherous minefields we may suddenly find ourselves in when we approach and try to get through - rather than avoid - prickly ...

Rethinking What We Do: Finding Balance--A Simple System for Dealing with Difficult Conversations
Holly Weeks

Harvard Business School Press, 2008

Difficult conversations themselves may be complicated, but we can't use a complicated system to bring them into balance. We need a simple system to call on when the conversation heats up and its basis is a three-way respect for yourself, your counterpart, and the conversation itself. The key to good practice is a combination of all three facets of ...

Conclusion: Getting Back on Track--Develop a Strategy for Navigating Through Difficult Conversations
Holly Weeks

Harvard Business School Press, 2008

In this chapter, the author outlines a variety of ways to handle yourself and your counterpart during tough conversations. Tactics include examining your preferred outcome, taking the middle ground, and using the three-way respect system, among many others. Armed with these strategies, you will develop the skills to make your way through tough ...

Out of the Breakdown Gap: Strategy and Tactics--Preparing Yourself for the Inevitable Breakdowns in ...
Holly Weeks

Harvard Business School Press, 2008

It is the nature of two-level, tough conversations--with communication up top where it's observable, and interpretations with all its flaws concealed below--that we won't see breakdowns in understanding coming. To stop the slide into this breakdown gap, we want a good, balanced strategy that is flexible enough to allow for differences between ...

What's Wrong With What We Do: Where Difficult Conversations Go Wrong
Holly Weeks

Harvard Business School Press, 2008

Often, each side thinks the trouble in a tough conversation is the other side's fault, cancelling out the blame. Our counterparts use an arsenal of thwarting ploys to get us to back off, to come out on top, or simply to get out of the conversation altogether. On our side, we want to avoid confrontation, but are driven to get tangled in our own ...