Synopses & Reviews
THREE SIMPLE STEPS FOR TRANSFORMING YOUR WORKPLACE Every office has them: the ever-complaining colleague...the co-worker who is constantly late for meetings...the boss who either blows up at you or blows you off...or the one person who drives everyone else totally crazy.
The problem is, the conventional methods -- like repeated warnings, threats, and heartfelt discussions -- for dealing with this negative behavior often don't seem to work. Drawing on a wealth of professional experience as well as forty years of research, Lucy Gill exposes the futility of these common practices and replaces them with a three-step strategy for creating a productive, conflict-free workplace:
1. Get to the heart of the matter by focusing on what the real problem is.
2. Determine what problem-solving methods to avoid so that you don't perpetuate the conflict.
3. Choose a different and even surprising approach that will solve the problem and keep it solved.
Whether you're just starting out in your career or you already have an office along the executive corridor, How to Work with Just About Anyone provides the key to success, satisfaction, and sanity in the workplace.
Review
Robert M. Bramson, Ph.D. author of the bestselling Coping with Difficult People The methods in this book are unique. It is not a book about how to improve yourself of get along better with others. It is about how to get all those difficult people in your life to be more cooperative. I have used Lucy Gill's model with my clients and it works.
Review
Roland Chazal industrial vice-president, Perrier Vittel, France With humor and subtlety, Lucy Gill offers a practical method for addressing difficult problems and for successfully getting people to change, and gives you the tools and the confidence to find solutions. Using her methods, we effectively and efficiently resolved very tough conflicts in our company.
Review
Robert M. Bramson, Ph.D.author of the bestselling Coping with Difficult PeopleThe methods in this book are unique. It is not a book about how to improve yourself of get along better with others. It is about how to get all those difficult people in your life to be more cooperative. I have used Lucy Gill's model with my clients and it works.
Review
Dr. Richard Fisch director and principal investigator of the Brief Therapy Center at MRI, in Palo Alto, CA This book is a little gem. It's deceptive in its simplicity. Lucy Gill has managed to translate very new thinking about complicated problems into language that allows the reader to apply the concepts practically in the business world, and be light-years ahead.
Review
Steven Brown former president of 800-Software Lucy Gill worked as a consultant in my company and produced great results. She used her methods very productively for us, and I am glad she has written How to Work with Just About anyone. Her humorous and conversational style is like having her in my office again, kicking ideas around. This is a great book.
Review
Paul Watzlawick emeritus clinical professor, Stanford University; member of the Mental Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA Anyone who's ever worked with a frustrating person should read this book. Step by step, Lucy Gill shows how to get even "impossible" people to change.
Review
Jim Kouzes coauthor, The Leadership Challenge; and Chairman, The Tom Peters Group/Learning Systems Delivers on its promise. You'll wish you followed Lucy Gill's three-step process years ago!
Review
Keith Irwin managing partner, Tanner-Irwin Management consultants This book is a barnburner: with concise, clear examples, simple steps, and no clutter or jargon. Don't let this book get buried on your "self-help" shelf.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [199]-200) and index.
About the Author
Lucy Gill is an internationally known authority on the prevention and management of difficult and nonproductive behavior, and is a Research Affiliate at the Mental Research Institute of Palo Alto -- the only management consultant to be accorded that status. Her clients include Bank of America, Varian, Rockwell International, TRW, Sun Microsystems, and a number of Silicon Valley start-up companies. She lives in Coulterville, California.
Table of Contents
ContentsForeword
Section I
The Problems That Won't Go Away
One
The Care and Feeding of Problems: How Difficult Behavior Gets Reinforced
Two
Maddening Circles of Common Sense: How We Get in the Way of Change
Three
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Focusing on the Heart of the Matter
Four
Tackling the Right Problem: Avoiding Bogs and Dead Ends
Five
Shall We Not Dance: Taking the Lead
Section II
The Usual Suspects: Common-sense Solutions That Don't Work
Six
The Ear That Doesn't Hear: Repeatedly Urging Change
Seven
You Should-Oughta-Wanna Like This: Trying to Talk Someone into Liking Your Request
Eight
One-Upsmanship: Demanding Acknowledgment That You're Right
Nine
Solution by Evasion: Using the Indirect Approach
Ten
When You Are Your Problem: Trying to Conquer Fear with Endless Preparation
Section III
Hunting Down New Solutions
Eleven
Changing the Dance: Doing the Opposite, the Unexpected, the Outrageous, and the Ordinary
Twelve
Ready, Set, Go: Persuading Yourself to Try Something New
Thirteen
Stick with a Winning Game: How to Keep a Problem Solved
Fourteen
If It Didn't Work: Troubleshooting Your Plan
Fifteen
Speeding Along the Learning Curve: And Let the Changes Begin
A Summary of the Steps
Bibliography
Index