Revolutionary Conversations
Change your conversation – change your world. Sound impossible? Revolutionary Conversations™ make it happen!
The “How To” for life changing conversations in the workplace, at home, your community or in the world can be found in this book. You’ll learn the power of the S.H.A.R.E.™ Tools as you read the case studies and put the individual action plans in place. You’ll discover new ways to engage co-workers, generate extraordinary ideas, grow and thrive through powerful conversations throughout the organization. And the S.H.A.R.E.™ Tools carry seamlessly into to all aspects of our lives with friends, family and the community. You can start changing your world right away.
BOOK REVIEW: DONOVAN’S BOOKSHELF
Revolutionary Conversations: The Tools You Need for the Success You Want introduces not just a concept but a new way of communicating: the S.H.A.R.E.™ Tools. This is no fly-by-night or quick program but has been 25 years in the making, developed by business re-engineering specialist Mark Fowler in conjunction with human resources professional Noal McDonald and public relations expert and NGO leader Barbara Gaughen-Muller. With this team on board for the program’s development and deployment, Revolutionary Conversations™ features just the level of expertise needed to assure readers of the program’s validity and real-world applications.
There are plenty of examples of such throughout the book, demonstrating how these Tools can fit into and change virtually any conversation, from business to personal.
Revolutionary Conversations™ opens with a preface explaining the program’s origins and its applications. An important detail to note: unlike other change-promoting programs that make use of stiff routines and non-intuitive wording, the Tools focus on incorporating its power into everyday language and interactions. This means a more natural flow of language, thought and communication that doesn’t stop its participants dead with canned or contrived ‘buzzwords’.
Another ‘plus’ to note: the purpose here is to create boundaries for a win-win conversation that promotes and supports all involved. But how are complicated situations addressed using the S.H.A.R.E.™ Tools? S.H.A.R.E.™ stands for Stop-Help-Ask-Risk-Explore; and that’s what this program- in-a-book is all about.
It’s unusual to have a book open with three different prefaces by all three collaborators, and this is just one early indication that readers are in for something special. Each author provides insights on their experiences with the program and their vision for its use, and each of these different insights lends to a greater idea of the applications and power of the S.H.A.R.E.™ agenda.
Each section concludes with a handy link back to the Table of Contents, a feature that lends to quick and effortless browsing, cross-referencing, and an easier flow of ideas with an ability to move back and forth between concepts.
So what is a Revolutionary Conversations™? ” It happens when we take the time – whether in a minute or an hour – to make sure we’re all on the same page. When we do this, we create an environment of learning, not just knowing.” The benefits of taking this extra time are evident in higher productivity and morale, less stress on the job, and better client relationships – for a start.
As each piece of a Revolutionary Conversations™ is dissected and analyzed, readers absorb the program’s basic tenants, its goals, and how to reach them through modifying approaches, attitudes, and most of all, language.
The focus is on a genuine, meaningful attitude and how to shift engrained patterns towards a better, positive result. It all sounds ideal and it all sounds desirable: the meat lies in the ‘how’ involved in the process itself, and here the book is quite clear, offering specifics and no hazy ‘fluff’, and reinforcing these approaches with plenty of familiar, real-world examples.
From avoiding patterns of blame and “my idea/your idea” to creating a collaborative environment, Revolutionary Conversations™ is all about identifying the greater good, involving individuals in the types of patterns that lead to success for everyone, and changing the defeating, petty approaches that traditional business environments often foster through competition and struggle.
Gone is the notion that such struggle is ‘good’ for winning: here everybody wins or nobody wins, and the crux of the matter is the kinds of approaches and conversations one cultivates in business. Lest any believe this book is directed to managers alone, let it be mentioned that all of the tools can also be used by employees in dealings with bosses and co-workers, as in the case of Mary, who found a way to STOP her boss and not only protected herself from his anger, but changed their relationship dynamic to a more positive path that resulted in her becoming a more valued part of her company.
It’s all about identifying what is beneficial and assessing how to get there through changing engrained or destructive patterns – and the process of using the tools identified in Revolutionary Conversations™ will create a powerful dynamic that will change not just corporations or small businesses, but lives.
From a sample weeks-long schedule of integrating this program into one’s life to what to expect on changes, Revolutionary Conversations™ serves up a powerful set of tools recommended not just for business leaders and readers, but for any who would empower themselves to create better patterns of conversations to change their lives.
Diane Donovan
Midwest Book Review
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