Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The fundamental premises of the book are using empathy in conversations and to focus on objectives, not emotions. Like many self-help or pop-psy books this would be better suited to a pamphlet than a book, but the authors endeavoured to stretch this out to the minimum length required for a "book." They do this by establishing flowcharts and acronyms that are a classic sign of a business approach to a problem and are hardly memorable in the "heat of the moment" which is precisely when the material is meant to be most valuable. Only in the closing comments do the authors admit that their checklist approach may be impractical and that a few core principles may better serve the reader. The book would be improved with more anecdotes, which serve as resonant reminders of the necessary skills. It would also benefit from a few stories we follow throughout the book, where each chapter elucidates the subtleties of say a complicated business negotiation. It could do with fewer contrived conversations where the authors simulate the effectiveness of their tools with "strawmen." Thankfully the book is short enough to be over quickly.