The heart of the book is an exploration of the four basic kinds of conversation a leader should engage in. Each kind of conversation involves a distinct set of strategic objectives demanding its own skills and techniques. At the outset, the authors emphasize that holding leadership conversations should not be viewed as a mere task to be crossed off a checklist. “Rather it is something you need to do well — consciously and unconsciously — every minute of every day. Conversations with your bosses, peers, direct reports and other stakeholders are the lifeblood of your business relationships.”
Before a relationship can pay dividends, it must be established in the first place, on a foundation of trust and reciprocity. Thus, the authors begin with an overview of the basic tenets of relationship-building, citing a couple of case studies of CEOs who seem to have devoted an inordinate amount of time on conversations with no particular end in mind. One, Sam, routinely spent hours a week on five- to ten-minute phone conversations, never asking anything of the other person, just listening. Peers questioned this practice amid so many immediate challenges faced by the firm. Yet, precisely because of these conversations, whenever the firm faced a major challenge or opportunity, Sam had someone he could call on.
Another CEO, the head of a Fortune 500 company, was known for writing as many as 20,000 notes a year to company employees he encountered on his travels. He would thank them for what he had learned and ask for additional information. As he continued this practice, the information offered him grew more and more valuable, and employees went out of their way to share with him. He had cultivated an invaluable base of knowledge on the ground.