As the authors state in the introduction, "Conversational skill is particularly important whenever we need to coordinate the efforts of different people to produce value" - ie: in just about every human interaction that takes place at work.

I first came across Connolly and Rianoshek about a year ago when my boss lent me a tape set of theirs that he had been recommended by his coach. This book expands on the central theme of the tapes: in any conversation at work, we are operating from some point on a speedometer-like 'conversation meter'.

At the low end of the scale we operate from 'Pretense': we are, in effect, lying - not telling the truth or witholding what we actually want to express because we are afraid of the consequences of 'saying something out loud'. For example, you want to speak up in a meeting but don't; or someone asks you how things are going and you say 'fine' when actually they're not. We all operate from Pretense alarmingly often. In fact, the authors assert that it is the default mode of communication for far too many people in the workplace.

Next on the scale is 'Sincerity'. Here we say what we honestly believe is true. This covers everything from an emotional outburst (a 'sincere expression of opinion'), a firmly expressed viewpoint or soliciting others views while automatically rejecting those that do not fit our own beliefs. Like me, you can probably recall times when you've operated from here.

The third area on the conversation meter (which measures value creation as we move up it) is 'Accuracy'. Here we offer, or probe for, the separation of facts from explanations. We establish rock-solid facts and compare differing explanations for value. As you can imagine, conversations led from Accuracy are far more productive than interchanges characterised by Pretense or Sincerity.

The top of the scale is Authenticity. Authentic conversations are based on Accuracy and lead to the exploration of intersections between differing points of view that allow for the realisation of previously invisible opportunities to create value. Put more simply, it's finally, truly, seeing things from someone else's point of view and being able to collaborate with that person to achieve something of value that was not previously possible.

A quick test of whether you can communicate authentically in your workplace is provided by your reaction to one of the principles in the authors summary of their 'Back Road to Brilliance'. They believe that "The faster we admit error, the sooner we make good". If you make a mistake at work can you:
1) admit it to your colleagues without fear?
2) expect them to work with you to resolve the error?

The Conversation Meter is an easy to grasp but difficult to master concept and it lies at the heart of the book, which goes on to take the reader through a process that allows individuals or groups to move up the scale to high-velocity value creation. The book does this in quite a unique format. Each chapter has an explanation of one part of the process, peppered with inspirational quotes along the way, and then ends with an episode of a fictional tale that relates the same information in a (Blanchard and Johnson style) parable.

Although I read the whole book, it would be possible to just read the story about Walker O'Reilly and Rev Baker at the end of every chapter and still get the key concepts. The nonfiction portions of the book can be heavy going at times, so the story broke up the need to focus and helped embed the underlying principles.

The process and the concepts here can bring remarkable results. Clients of the authors consultancy practice identify significant reductions in their "time to resoultion" with key business issues as a result of moving towards more authentic communications. The book illustrates many clients' real-life examples of the application of these principles, in addition to the fictional ones.

When you consider that "In conversation, we assign meaning and then take action", I really find it remarkable that such an insightful examination of the humble conversation has not become a business bestseller sooner. From what I can gather, this book still only appears on the backroads of peoples' business reading, when it really deserves to be celebrated in the mainstream.

Read this book and reinvent your conversations.