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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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How to Work with (Almost) Anyone summary
Michael Bungay Stanier
Five Questions for Building the Best Possible Relationships
17 mins
Brief summary
How to Work with (Almost) Anyone is a practical guide that offers strategies for building better working relationships with colleagues. It provides tools and techniques to improve communication, collaboration, and productivity in the workplace.
Table of Contents
How to Work with (Almost) Anyone
Summary of 5 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 5
Building stronger work relationships
You’re in a bustling kitchen – the heart of a renowned restaurant. The tantalizing aroma of spices fills the air as expert chefs deftly chop, sauté, and plate. Behind each exquisite dish lies hours of careful planning, ingredient selection, and a deep understanding of how to blend flavors to create a culinary masterpiece. Preparing a memorable meal doesn’t just involve combining ingredients at the last minute; it’s a process that begins long before the food ever reaches the stove.
Now, let’s turn that kitchen into your workplace, and that delectable dish into the potent business relationships you strive to forge with your colleagues. The recipe for successful collaboration, like our fine dining scenario, requires careful planning and selection of conversation ingredients. Your goal is to create a keystone conversation – one that keeps the relationship stable and strong.
The first ingredient in your keystone conversation is the Amplify Question: What’s your best? Just like identifying the star ingredient of a dish, pinpoint your colleagues’ talents and peak moments. Understanding their areas of expertise allows you to tap into the shared talent pool, creating a synergy where you both shine brightest.
Next, add the Steady Question: What are your practices and preferences? In cooking, it’s about knowing the consistency of each ingredient. In the workplace, it’s about understanding each other’s work habits and styles. With this understanding, you can identify the similarities and differences that could lead to powerful collaboration or meaningful balance.
The third part of our recipe is the Good Date Question: What can you learn from successful past relationships? Sharing stories about positive work experiences is like sharing secret family recipes. It helps recreate fruitful collaborations – with luck, timing, and hard work forming the secret ingredients.
Fourth, we have the Bad Date Question: What can you learn from unsuccessful past relationships? As a chef learns from burned dishes and over-seasoned soups, you too can gain wisdom from past work blunders. Analyzing these instances increases self-awareness and helps you avoid making the same mistakes again.
Finally, stir in the Repair Question: How will you fix things that go wrong? This is the seasoning that balances the dish, acknowledging that missteps are inevitable. The ability to identify problems, stay goal-focused, understand, de-escalate, and rebuild adds resilience to your work relationship.
Now it’s time to put these ingredients into action and cook up a keystone conversation – the basis of any good relationship.
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What is How to Work with (Almost) Anyone about?
How to Work with (Almost) Anyone (2023) is a compelling guide to mastering workplace dynamics and nurturing professional relationships. It shows how you can enable more effective collaboration by facilitating open dialogue, nurturing curiosity, and fostering trust.
How to Work with (Almost) Anyone Review
How to Work with (Almost) Anyone (2004) offers valuable insights on building effective relationships in the workplace. Here's why this book is worth reading:
- Packed with practical tips and strategies, it equips readers with the tools to navigate various personalities and effectively collaborate with colleagues.
- Using real-life examples and relatable scenarios, the book provides relatable guidance on resolving conflicts, communicating effectively, and fostering teamwork.
- With its engaging approach and relatable anecdotes, the book ensures that readers stay engaged and find the topic of workplace relationships anything but dull.
Who should read How to Work with (Almost) Anyone?
- Leaders who manage projects or coordinate teams
- Employees who want to boost their workplace relationships
- Young adults learning to interact with varying personalities in academic and professional environments
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How to Work with (Almost) Anyone FAQs
What is the main message of How to Work with (Almost) Anyone?
The main message of How to Work with (Almost) Anyone is to improve your work relationships for better collaboration and productivity.
How long does it take to read How to Work with (Almost) Anyone?
The reading time for How to Work with (Almost) Anyone varies, but it typically takes a few hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in 15 minutes.
Is How to Work with (Almost) Anyone a good book? Is it worth reading?
How to Work with (Almost) Anyone is worth reading as it offers practical strategies for improving work relationships, leading to higher performance and job satisfaction.
Who is the author of How to Work with (Almost) Anyone?
The author of How to Work with (Almost) Anyone is Michael Bungay Stanier.
What to read after How to Work with (Almost) Anyone?
If you're wondering what to read next after How to Work with (Almost) Anyone, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- The Ultimate Guide to Great Mentorship by Scott Jeffrey Miller
- The Advice Trap by Michael Bungay Stanier
- Strategic Project Management Made Simple by Terry Dean Schmidt
- Elevate Your Team by Robert Glazer
- How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Radical Respect by Kim Scott
- Getting There by Gillian Zoe Segal
- How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith
- Exactly What to Say by Phil M Jones
- Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself by Joe Dispenza