Weber - Influence in action: how to build your conversational capacity, do meaningful work, and make a powerful difference

PRAISE FOR

CRAIG WEBER

and

INFLUENCE IN ACTION

Every so often, I come across an idea thats so simple yet so powerful that it instantly changes my perspective. The sweet spot model within Conversational Capacity had this effect on me, describing how the best conversations and collaborations live in the paradoxical middle ground between passive and aggressive dysfunction. The methods described in Influence in Action will change how you behave in conversations ranging from chatting with peers to facilitating large high-stakes meetings. Its that powerful.

Jay Campbell, SVP of Products and Content, The Ken Blanchard Companies

Craig Weber has written a book everyone must read! It is a crazy world we live in, and we need a very different set of tools, techniques, and principles to navigate the unpredictable terrain and actually contribute positively to solving tough problems and shaping organizational life and our wider world. Craig draws on his experience working with thousands of executives from a broad array of institutions on the demands and requirements for making a sustainable difference. He presents a framework for leadership and change that is intellectually rigorous, extremely actionable, and delightfully inspiring. These are exciting and compelling ideas that you can use immediately to be a force for good and a dynamic change agent in business, government, or community life.

Dr. Dean Williams, Faculty Chair, The Global Change Agent program, Harvard Kennedy School, and author of Real Leadership and Leadership for a Fractured World

Craig Weber has done it again. Following up on his first book, Conversational Capacity, Weber reminds us that conversation is perhaps the most powerful tool we have at our disposal in creating positive relationships and productive teams. Too often we take talk for granted, and we do not pay attention to what we are creating together. Influence in Action offers concrete steps that empower us to be mindful in our relationships and teams so that we can make a meaningful difference when and where it counts.

Frank J. Barrett, PhD, Professor of Management and Organizational Behavior, Global Public Policy, Naval Postgraduate School, and author of Yes to the Mess: Surprising Leadership Lessons from Jazz

Craig Weber makes a convincing case that the most important skill we can cultivate as leadersthe most game-changing, life-changing, world-changing thing we can learnis the ability to have better conversations in difficult circumstances. Then he shows us how to do it. Influence in Action is a practical guide for turning dialogue into a discipline, a map for finding the sweet spot where unspoken biases, hidden agendas, and entrenched positions yield to healthy, productive collaboration. I cant imagine a more essential read for complex times.

Chris Koch, Chief Marketing Officer, Banyan Communications

Ive known Craig for years through our work developing engineering leaders. His ideas and skills for having effective leadership conversations in challenging circumstances were a central part of engineering leadership development. If youre looking to gear up your ability to work well with others under pressure, have greater influence when it counts, and make a big difference in your team or organization, you must read this book!

Dr. John J. Tracy, retired Chief Technology Officer and SVP of Engineering, Operations, and Technology, The Boeing Company

I count myself among those who loved Conversational Capacity and, after rereading it a few times, was looking for more. Craig delivers it in this book. He expands our understanding of the sweet spot and provides us with invaluable tools for taking our conversational capacity and our ability to be a positive influence in the lives of others to new heights.

Leo Bottary, coauthor of The Power of Peers and author of What Anyone Can Do

The lack of self-awareness and purposeful communication can ruin any business. Craig established himself as the foremost thought leader on these issues in his seminal book, Conversational Capacity. In his new book, Influence in Action, Craig ups the ante with additional tools that empower leaders to transcend productive conversations to inspirational leadership. A personal game-changer, Influence in Action is a must-read for any current, or aspiring, leader.

Drew Fortin, SVP of Sales and Marketing, The Predictive Index

Since reading Conversational Capacity, I have applied the concepts of candor and curiosity in my professional and personal life over the past five years and have seen the positive difference it has made. In Influence in Action, Weber illuminates the reality that progress and success depend as much on effective collaboration and communication as on resources and strategy. These truths inspire a renewed commitment to intentional leadership, focusing on what is possible, thoughtfully bringing your team on the journey, and remembering to have some fun along the way.

Maya H. Pack, MS, MPA, Associate Executive Director, South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health

Everyone wants to make a difference. Influence in Action will help you build the skills you need to make a difference that matters.

Karina Forrest-Perkins, CEO, Peoples Center Clinic & Services

Influence in Action provides a simple, practical, yet incredibly powerful methodology for building your conversational capacity while making a profound difference in your teams, organization, or community. This book will transform the way you think about leadership and how to build a strong, adaptive, sustainable, visionary, high-performance organization.

Andy Restivo, President and CEO, Creative Channel Services

Business leaders can fall in love with strategic planning and flavor-of-the-month leadership approaches. Yet, without active communication, the best intentions can stall and team dysfunction often takes root. Influence in Action provides CEOs and key executives the tools and a pathway to become leaders of engaged teams.

John Surge, President, The A|E|C Agency, and Chair, Think Tank Roundtable

Influence in Action delivers. As a practitioner who not only uses Conversational Capacity in my work but also teaches it, this new book is exactly what Ive needed. Its not one of those follow-up books that simply repackages content from the first: Influence in Action provides both deeper insight into the basic discipline as well as foundational how-to practices to help you build and strengthen your conversational capacity. The insights and skills youll learn will make you more effective in all your relationships, and you might just find the motivation and confidence to work on those difficult, important issues youve been avoiding.

Chris Soderquist, President, Pontifex Consulting, and creator of SysQ (Systemic Intelligence)

Craigs first book, Conversational Capacity, helped me to better understand myself and improve my interactions with others to such a degree that I recommend it as the singular most important text for institutional leadership of any kind. Influence in Action takes the ideas and skills he shared in Conversational Capacity a step further by providing action steps and opportunities for practice. Webers work is deeply impactful on an individual level, but more important, it has the ability to transform institutions into places where growth and learning are cherished, and which yield better outcomes for all parties involved. The work isnt easy, but its worth it!