the Graduate School of Management at Brigham Young
University, and for over two decades has worked as a consultant
on extensive culture-change projects. His award-winning, video
based training programs have been used successfully by hundreds
of the Fortune 500 companies. Among his many clients are Ford
Motor Company, Allstate, and Intermountain Health Care.
Joseph Grenny (jg@vitalsmarts.com) cofounded California
Computer Corporation. He also cofounded Unitus, a nonprofit
organization that helps the third-world poor achieve economic
self-reliance. He has taught and coached thousands of corporate
and government leaders around the world. In the past seventeen
years he has designed and implemented major change initiatives
for numerous clients including IBM, AT&T, Lockheed Martin,
the state of California, and Columbia HealthCare.
Ron McMillan (rm@vitalsmarts.com) holds advanced degrees in
sociology and organizational behavior. He cofounded Covey
Leadership Center and was vice president of research and devel
opment foJ’ seven years. He serves on the board of directors of
Amcl’icull Fu m i ly I ns t i tute . For over twenty-five years, he has
238 ABOUT THE AUTHORS
worked with a variety of groups, ranging from unions and first
level managers to CEOs and corporate executives, on topics
including team development, personal vitality, and leadership.
His clients include the Saturn Division of GM, Procter &
Gamble, Disney, Aetna, Nike, and Lennox.
Al Switzler (as@vitalsmarts.com) is on the faculty at the Exec
utive Development Center at the University of Michigan.
Previously, he has taught at Auburn University, the University of
Kentucky, and the Graduate School of Management at Brigham
Young University. He has served as president of two consulting
firms, vice president of marketing for an information firm, and
director of training and management development for a health
care company. He has worked with hundreds of clients, including
Key Bank, Philips Electronics, the U.S. Department of Energy,
and aGE Energy Corp.
The authors founded VitalSmarts ( 1 990), coauthored The Bal
ancing Act; Mastering the Competing Demands of Leadership
( 1 996) , and have codeveloped dozens of training programs.
About Vita/Smarts
For twenty-five years, the authors have been helping individuals,
teams, and organizations improve the way they approach their
crucial conversations. They have worked with union, corporate,
and government leaders as well as front-line employees in hun
dreds of organizations-including over three hundred of the
Fortune 500 companies. These experiences have consistently led
to significant, rapid, and measurable improvement in results.
Through these experiences the authors have developed a variety
of proven resources that can help you master your crucial conver
sations. They include:
• Video illustrations of skills
• Assessment of personal, team, and organizational crucial
conversation skills
• Multimedia newsletter that describes best practices, applica-
tions, and fun tips
• Audio Mastery Course
• Self-study course for teams, couples, and small businesses
• Reminders and cues
• Live web trainings with authors
240 ABOUT VITALSMARTS
• Public training courses and special events
• In-house training and certification
• Retreats and keynotes
• e-training
To inquire about these and other resources and solutions,
contact us at:
www.crucialconversations.com
1 -800-449-5989
We’d like to hear about your attempts to improve your crucial
conversations. Visit us at www.crucia1conversations.com and
share what you’ve done. Your example can help others and may
be included in an upcoming publication.
