Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends and Colleagues
- Downloads：4442
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-25 13:31:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：David L. Bradford
- ISBN：0241406811
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Summary
Often described as transformational， 'Interpersonal Dynamics' has been the most popular elective course on the Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA for forty-five years。 Distilled into a book for the first time， Dr David L。 Bradford and Dr Carole Robin use seventy-five years of their teaching on the course to explain how to build more powerful and satisfying relationships with colleagues， partners and friends。
The structure of the book follows the general arc of relationships， with real-life examples from the course， the authors' work with organisations， their own personal lives and even their working relationship with each other。 Focusing on relationship-building through self-awareness， engagement， communication， building trust and giving and receiving feedback， the practical takeaways and memorable concepts have been honed over decades of teaching。 At the end， self-assessments help to deepen the reader's learning。 It's the proven route to better， more fulfilling relationships at home and at work。
The structure of the book follows the general arc of relationships， with real-life examples from the course， the authors' work with organisations， their own personal lives and even their working relationship with each other。 Focusing on relationship-building through self-awareness， engagement， communication， building trust and giving and receiving feedback， the practical takeaways and memorable concepts have been honed over decades of teaching。 At the end， self-assessments help to deepen the reader's learning。 It's the proven route to better， more fulfilling relationships at home and at work。
Reviews
Ana
，
The premise of the book is that it will allow you to forge better， more meaningful connections with those around you。 I was intrigued but had very low expectations， and I was very skeptical about the whole premise。As many others have said， it's nothing new。 The book explains techniques and gives a lot of examples of uncomfortable conversations and how to deal with them to get a more positive outcome。 These conversations are fairly realistic （especially in later chapters; the ones at the beginnin The premise of the book is that it will allow you to forge better， more meaningful connections with those around you。 I was intrigued but had very low expectations， and I was very skeptical about the whole premise。As many others have said， it's nothing new。 The book explains techniques and gives a lot of examples of uncomfortable conversations and how to deal with them to get a more positive outcome。 These conversations are fairly realistic （especially in later chapters; the ones at the beginning are very simple）。 There was nothing that made me think "Oh， I had never considered that！" Now， here's the twist: I actually attempted a couple of them （from the 'how to give feedback' section）， and。。。 they worked。 I repeat that it's nothing that you are not probably aware of already， but I guess reading about them gave me the courage to actually attempt them in situations where I felt stuck with someone （and talking to a wall）。 They're a couple of steps in the right direction， although of course it's very early days。 Having this in mind， I will possibly （once we're out of lockdown and we can interact with people in a more normal way） pick the book again and practice some of the prompts at the end of the chapters。I won't say this book is going to change your life， but I think it's worth your time if you're curious enough。Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest opinion。 。。。more
Harley
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This one took me long than expected to read。 Setting out the principles and concepts explored in Stanford's Interpersonal Dynamics course， which Bradford and Robin were instrumental in developing， this is a book that leads the reader in detail through what it takes to make a relationships exceptional。 Why it took me so long to read was that I wanted to think about each chapter。 I came away from each sitting of reading this wanting to really think about what I'd learned， how I might apply it and This one took me long than expected to read。 Setting out the principles and concepts explored in Stanford's Interpersonal Dynamics course， which Bradford and Robin were instrumental in developing， this is a book that leads the reader in detail through what it takes to make a relationships exceptional。 Why it took me so long to read was that I wanted to think about each chapter。 I came away from each sitting of reading this wanting to really think about what I'd learned， how I might apply it and who I might apply it with。 I was challenging myself as a result of what I'd read。For that reason， this isn't a book to be picked up as a light-hearted 'self-help' read in the vein of a 'here's what I've learned in my life that you might apply to yours'。 This is almost academic in its rigour and it beats with the years of experience the authors have in delivering the course and in building exceptional relationships themselves。 It's 4 stars for me， I'd recommend sitting down and really reading this carefully - it's worth it。 。。。more
Pam Sartain
，
Connect; Building Exceptional Relationships with Family， Friends and Colleagues by David L。 Bradford and Carole Robin is a book about how to communicate better with your loved ones。There are examples of pairs of people who have issues， and how they try to communicate。 The authors then break it down to show the things they do incorrectly， and those that they do well。 They give suggestions， so that you as the reader are learning how to explain your feelings to another person。This was a really in Connect; Building Exceptional Relationships with Family， Friends and Colleagues by David L。 Bradford and Carole Robin is a book about how to communicate better with your loved ones。There are examples of pairs of people who have issues， and how they try to communicate。 The authors then break it down to show the things they do incorrectly， and those that they do well。 They give suggestions， so that you as the reader are learning how to explain your feelings to another person。This was a really interesting book， with suggestions like 'when you do x， it makes me feel y'， which is something I've seen elsewhere， and has other ideas， and is aimed at you using it as a workbook， complete with the suggestion of writing a journal as you go through it。 Connect; Building Exceptional Relationships with Family， Friends and Colleagues was published on 4th March 2021， and is available on Amazon ， Waterstones and Bookshop。org 。I'm afraid I couldn't find anywhere you can follow the authors。I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review， so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin 。 。。。more
David
，
Connect is a guide to improving relationships between us in our everyday lives whether at work or personal。I wanted to read the book as I thought that I could improve some of the relationships in my life and to that extent it has worked， in making me look at situations afresh。The book's main focus is on conflicts within relationships and how to resolve conflicts within relationships and not cause lasting damage。 This is helped by the authors use of both fictional and real accounts of conflict be Connect is a guide to improving relationships between us in our everyday lives whether at work or personal。I wanted to read the book as I thought that I could improve some of the relationships in my life and to that extent it has worked， in making me look at situations afresh。The book's main focus is on conflicts within relationships and how to resolve conflicts within relationships and not cause lasting damage。 This is helped by the authors use of both fictional and real accounts of conflict between people and the actions taken to resolve the conflict， the authors also use their own experiences to illustrate the points being made in the book。The book also encourages us to look at our own relationships and make steps to possibly improve those。A interesting read， although it can be a bit heavy at times。If you are looking at improving your relationships or developing yourself， it is a worthwhile read。Thank you to both NetGalley and the Authors and publishers for the ARC of this book。 。。。more
Helen
，
In these days of Instagram perfection， surface impressions are the norm。 This book teaches you how to have the confidence to build more than superficial relationships， be this in personal and professional life。 How to resolve conflicts and difference of opinions and still go forward。 A must for any age going in the workplace or a serious relationship。
Emma
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A really good and practical step by step guide to improving， beginning or developing relationships in your life。 The chapters are just long enough to be projects and the tasks are challenging but simple in the approach。 I found benefit from the book。
Lesley Davison
，
Sadly， I had to give up on this book。 I do understand that advance reader copies of books may not be perfect in layout or may not be the final copy as far as proof reading goes but as a ‘born proof reader’ I found myself taking in none of this book and simply proof reading and boy does it need proof reading。 Virtually every page has multiple spelling mistakes， many typos and some that I can only presume are the writers’ shorthand as they are repeated time after time。 I always， when I read a book Sadly， I had to give up on this book。 I do understand that advance reader copies of books may not be perfect in layout or may not be the final copy as far as proof reading goes but as a ‘born proof reader’ I found myself taking in none of this book and simply proof reading and boy does it need proof reading。 Virtually every page has multiple spelling mistakes， many typos and some that I can only presume are the writers’ shorthand as they are repeated time after time。 I always， when I read a book， make a note of the errors and if authors or publishers are interested， I forward them on。 About twenty pages into this book， I realised that I had no idea of the content of the book as I had simply proof read and corrected it， so I gave up。If there is a better copy available， I would be happy to read and review it。 。。。more
Sheri
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Connect is an interesting guide to improving relationships - whether that be in a work or personal context。 Carole Robin and David Bradford have， between them， an impressive seventy-five years of teaching this stuff to Stanford University MBA candidates， so they should have some idea what they're talking about。They basically describe six hallmarks of "exceptional" relationships （sadly， I'm not sure I have any relationships which fully qualify， though I have elements of them）， which are basically Connect is an interesting guide to improving relationships - whether that be in a work or personal context。 Carole Robin and David Bradford have， between them， an impressive seventy-five years of teaching this stuff to Stanford University MBA candidates， so they should have some idea what they're talking about。They basically describe six hallmarks of "exceptional" relationships （sadly， I'm not sure I have any relationships which fully qualify， though I have elements of them）， which are basically around being able to be yourself， being able to be vulnerable， trusting the other person enough to self-disclose， being honest， dealing with conflict effectively， and being committed to each other's growth and development。I was interested in the focus on self-disclosure and expressing feelings honestly， as I'm aware this is something I'm not so good at。 I was also particularly interested in the section on giving and receiving feedback， which is a significant part of my job role。While I'm not sure I will remember or implement all of the guidance here （sometimes it sounds really hard to get it right）， there are definitely some parts which will stick with me， like the very helpful image of "staying on your own side of the net"！The case studies， followed throughout the book， are particularly useful， enabling the reader to better understand the ideas via "real life" situations which don't， of course， always go according to the theory。 And the authors practise what they preach by describing challenges in their own long-term relationship as friends and colleagues， and how these were addressed。 。。。more
Heather Trevis
，
Written by the masters of a landmark Stanford University course on interpersonal skills I had high hopes for this book， but I'm afraid for me this might be an example of how very effective courses don't always translate into great books。 The advice on how to build exceptional relationships is good， capturing modern insights on the importance of developing a growth mindset， the power of vulnerability and how to approach conflict。 However， I didn't find the book that enjoyable to read as pages wer Written by the masters of a landmark Stanford University course on interpersonal skills I had high hopes for this book， but I'm afraid for me this might be an example of how very effective courses don't always translate into great books。 The advice on how to build exceptional relationships is good， capturing modern insights on the importance of developing a growth mindset， the power of vulnerability and how to approach conflict。 However， I didn't find the book that enjoyable to read as pages were filled with examples of dialogue demonstrating good and bad approaches， and there were attempts to quantify feelings in percentage terms that just didn't work for me。 I can see how the book would be suited to business students， or left-brained thinkers， who might connect better with the book's logical approach。 。。。more
Janet
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