The Startling Discovery
After trailing Kevin for almost a week, we began to wonder if he
really did act in ways that set him apart from others or if his
influence was simply a matter of popularity. And then we fol lowed Kevin into a meeting.
Kevin, his peers, and their boss were deciding on a new loca tion for their offices-would they move across town, across the state, or across the country? The first two execs presented their
arguments for their top choices, and as expected, their points were greeted by penetrating questions from the full team. No vague
claim went unclarified, no unsupported reasoning unquestioned.
MASTERING CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS 1 9
Then Chris, the CEO, pitched his preference-one that was both unpopular and potentially disastrous. However, when peo
ple tried to disagree or push back on Chris, he responded poorly. Since he was the big boss, he didn’t exactly have to browbeat people to get what he wanted. Instead, he became slightly defen sive. First he raised an eyebrow. Then he raised his finger. Finally
he raised his voice-just a little. It wasn’t long until people stopped questioning him, and Chris’s inadequate proposal was quietly accepted.
Well almost. That’s when Kevin spoke up. His words were
simple enough-something like, “Hey Chris, can I check some thing out with you?”
The reaction was stunning-everyone in the room stopped breathing. But Kevin ignored the apparent terror of his col leagues and plunged on ahead. In the next few minutes he in essence told the CEO that he appeared to be violating his own decision-making guidelines. He was subtly using his power to move the new offices to his hometown.
Kevin continued to explain what he saw happening, and when
he finished the first crucial minutes of this delicate exchange, Chris was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded his head. “You’re
absolutely right,” he finally concluded. “I have been trying to force my opinion on you. Let’s back up and try again.”
This was a crucial conversation, and Kevin played no games
whatsoever. He didn’t resort to silence like his colleagues, nor
did he try to force his arguments on others. As a result, the team chose a far more reasonable location and Kevin’s boss appreci ated his candor.
When Kevin was done, one of his peers turned to us and said, “Did you see how he did that? If you want to know how he gets
things done, figure out what he just did.” So we did. In fact, we spent the next twenty-five years discov
ering what Kevin and people like him do. What typically set
20 CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS
them apart from the rest of the pack was their ability to deal with crucial conversations. When talking turned tough and stakes were high, they excelled. But how? Kevin wasn’t that different. He did step up to a tough issue and help the team make a better choice, but what exactly did he do? Did he possess learnable
skills, or was what he did more magical than manageable? To answer these questions, first, let’s explore what Kevin was
able to achieve. This will help us see where we’re trying to go. Then we’ll examine the dialogue tools effective communicators routinely
use and learn to apply them to our own crucial conversations.
THE “ONE THING”
If you’ve seen the movie City Slickers, you may remember a scene where the crusty character Curly explains that if you want to suc
ceed in life you have to do one thing. Then, in typical Hollywood fashion, he explains that he’s not about to tell you what that one thing is. You have to figure it out yourself.
We won’t pull a Curly. We’ll reveal the one thing. When it
comes to risky, controversial, and emotional conversations, skilled people find a way to get all relevant information (from themselves
and others) out into the open. That’s it. At the core of every successful conversation lies the
free flow of relevant information. People openly and honestly
express their opinions, share their feelings, and articulate their theories. They willingly and capably share their views, even when their ideas are controversial or unpopular. It’s the one thing, and it’s precisely what Kevin and the other extremely effective com municators we studied were routinely able to achieve.
Now, to put a label on this spectacular talent-it’s called dia logue.
di·a·logue or di·a·log (di’ a-lOg”, -log) n The free flow of meaning between two or more people.
