Sunday, December 2, 2007

Lost my mind and got a website.

It's not up yet, but it's under active construction now. I got a domain name -- it was my first impulse domain name, actually -- to structure the information I'm collecting based on the kind of thinking I've been doing here. My list of links is huge; my stack of books is staggering. It's time to make some sense of all of it.

The book that hit me the hardest recently is this one, and I can't recommend it enough: Crucial Conversations. About how to handle conversations with "high stakes," where emotions run strong and people have a natural inclination to withdraw or overpower, it gives guidance on how to stay present and keep the other person present in a cooperative spirit based on maintaining sight of a mutual goal, not just "winning." It is without a doubt the most important book I've read all year, and possibly ever in this category.