Developing Strong Connections with Family, Friends, and Colleagues: A Guide to Building Exceptional Relationships

Madison: I already own this book in physical and audio form but I bought this one for my mother. I got a hardback for a great price and it was beautifully brand new!

United States on Oct 24, 2023

starfishdreamer: I highly recommend this book for business students. Developing relationships at work and in our personal lives is deeply rewarding. Good relationships are life enriching experiences and promote health and wealth building.

United States on Oct 11, 2023

Irina yashina: I will recommend everyone who wants not just do the networking based on numbers. Exceptional advice and interesting theories

Germany on May 29, 2023

Orwell: "Connect" is an insightful and practical guide to building meaningful relationships in both personal and professional settings. Carole and David draw on their extensive experience as Stanford Business School professors to provide readers with a framework for creating authentic connections, overcoming communication barriers, and resolving conflicts. With its engaging storytelling and actionable advice, the book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their social skills and enhance their relationships. Highly recommended for anyone seeking to cultivate more meaningful connections in their life.

United States on Mar 07, 2023

Venkat PillaiVenkat Pillai: “Connect – Building exceptional relationships with family, friends and colleagues” by David Bradford and Carole Robin is an excellent read.
It opens a gateway to exploring and maintaining relationships.
Few takeaways include:
1. 15 per cent rule to move 15% from your comfort zone in the learning zone with another by maybe doing the following:
a. Being vulnerable,
b. Self-disclosure - who goes first?
c. Self-realisation
2. Use feedback mechanism effectively to address the behaviour dear and not the intent!
3. Let the emotions flow but own it and target effective implementation by
a. Getting the other person to take the feedback seriously.
b. Sharing all the issues
c. Resolution
d. Repair
4. Conditions, where people are more likely to change, are when their resistance to change is lesser than the product of dissatisfaction in seeing the cost of old behaviour, vision to see the benefit of new behaviour and taking the first steps.
I recommend this to all who want to improve their relationships with fellow human beings.

India on Jan 18, 2023

GUILHERME Souza: Relationships are hard, demanding and complex. That is why they are so beautiful and worth investing time on it.

This book provides a complete toolkit on how to approach each different kind of relationship to achieve harmony and meaningfulness.

Fortunate are those who were able to have Stanford in-person classes with these couple.

Brazil on Jan 05, 2023

joaquin Rojas: A través de historias los autores presentan con claridad los fundamentos y las prácticas para la construcción y mejors de relaciones significativas.

Mexico on Oct 17, 2022

Chez GKY: Bradford and Robin's Connect provides readers with a framework to enhance relationships with just about anyone. The book starts with the basics, defining what exactly deepens relationships (making yourself known) and detailing how to start doing so (15% rule). The meat of the book focuses on making the most out of very ordinary relationship matters: engaging others, dealing with emotion, providing feedback, breaking stalemates, and resolving conflict, and channeling these efforts towards richer relationships rather than damaged ones.

To make things easier to understand, the authors employ fictional characters with their own unique relational conflicts and walk the reader through the stages of resolution. Acknowledging that situations are not always perfect, however, the book also provides scenarios where the other party is unwilling to engage in a positive interaction and offers ways to deal with such cases.

Each chapter ends with an actionable section providing things to try with a select few relationships you want enhanced, which the book asks you to identify from the start. I wasn't able to make the most out of this, unfortunately.

Despite not having the...

United States on Jun 02, 2022

Matt S: Firstly I recommend anyone that intends to buy or read the book first listen to the episode of the ‘Feel Better, Live More’ podcast with the authors. The episode explores some of the key ideas covered in the book.

The ‘stay on your side of the net’ and ‘three realities’ ideas are really simple, yet powerful. They are worth the price of the book alone.

The case studies are a useful way of bringing the ideas to life although, like many books, I reckon it could’ve covered everything and been 1/3 shorter.

United Kingdom on Apr 12, 2022

Tony L: Full disclosure, I have been an adherent of lessons gained from Stanford Business School's Interpersonal Dynamics class — widely-known as "Touchy-feely" — since I was privileged enough to take it as a student in the 1990s. And, I have been a big Carole and David fan for almost as many years as a colleague, friend, and co-conspirator in spreading the word on building exceptional relationships.

The challenge of capturing for the benefit of a wider audience the experiential learning essence gained from the course or related forums (e.g., Leaders in Tech's Intensive Programs & Retreats, where Carole is a Co-founder) seemed not just daunting, but near impossible. But after reading CONNECT, it's abundantly clear that Carole and David have found ways to make accessible to all the core tenets of their life's work. Though clear presentation of frameworks and guidelines; powerful anecdotes; exemplary, thought-provoking storytelling; and essential exercises that help a reader put into practice what the authors espouse, the magic that has generated relational epiphanies for so many Touchy-feely participants over the years is there for the realizing.

Feedback is a gift?...

United States on Mar 08, 2021