This is the Read to Lead podcast episode 489.

It'd be amazing, of course, if every working relationship you had was farting unicorns and

rainbows and sprinkles and whatever else and you're like, oh, I see you and I appreciate you.

And I would love it if we could do that.

But most of us have to engage in reality.

So that's not what happens.

Your happiness and your success depend on your working relationships.

The people you manage, how well you work with your boss, the way collaboration happens with

colleagues and peers, how you connect with important prospects and key clients. But the hard

truth is this. Most of us leave the health and fate of these relationships to chance. Hi, I'm Jeff

Brown. This is the Read to Lead podcast, a podcast that is dedicated to your personal and professional

growth. I believe if you want to achieve true success in business and in life, then intentional and

consistent reading is a great way to start. This week, I've been reading a book by Michael

Bungay Stanier, who's probably best known for his book, The Coaching Habit,

he's written a new book called How to Work with Almost Anyone,

Five Questions for Building the Best Possible Relationships.

I'll be asking Michael to share about that thing I just mentioned a moment ago,

the hard truth about why we leave the fate of many of our relationships to chance,

insight into what he calls

keystone conversations and how to have them, principles surrounding the maintenance of these

important conversations, and much, much more.

Speaking of important conversations, that's one of the things I love about the read-to-lead

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