Author
Al Switzler
The consultant and university lecturer who co-wrote Crucial Conversations and taught its method for thirty years.
1 book on BookYol
The story and the impact
Al Switzler taught at the University of Michigan's executive development programme and consulted with organisations on communication and performance before co-founding the training company behind Crucial Conversations with Patterson, Grenny and McMillan.
Crucial Conversations grew out of the authors' research at their training company, VitalSmarts, later Crucial Learning, where they studied people whose colleagues named them as unusually good at high-stakes conversations. The book, published in 2002 and revised in 2012 and 2022, became the standard corporate text on dialogue and was followed by Crucial Accountability and Influencer.
The signature
Switzler's contribution is the emphasis on the self before the conversation: start with heart, know what you really want, and refuse the false choice between honesty and kindness.