In How to Work with (Almost) Anyone, Michael Bungay Stanier outlines how to set up working relationships for the best chance of success—by following a process of thorough preparation, a keystone conversation, and regular maintenance.

Bungay Stanier, founder of coaching firm Box of Crayons, is a world-renowned thought leader on coaching and author of the best-selling coaching book, The Coaching Habit. In his most recent book, he focuses on relationship-building, providing readers with processes and principles, as well as exercises and ample practical advice to sharpen their skills.

Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Bungay Stanier discusses how to build the “best possible relationship” and how to maintain and repair it over time. Moreover, they assess how to create a corporate culture conducive to these relationships, and how to make these relationships work in a hybrid or remote setting.

Key topics discussed:

[01:22] How to make difficult relationships more workable
[03:39] Definition of a “best possible relationship” and how to build it
[05:54] How to have a keystone conversation
[12:26] The impact of corporate culture and different personality types
[15:44] How to maintain and repair relationships
[20:42] The implications of hybrid and remote work
[22:31] How leaders can apply these lessons in their organizations

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About the BCG Henderson Institute

The BCG Henderson Institute is the Boston Consulting Group’s think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, economics, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business. For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

How to Work with (Almost) Anyone with Michael Bungay Stanier

In Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Restacks the Knowledge Economy, Sangeet Paul Choudary explores common misconceptions about how AI will change work, organizations, and business ecosystems.

Choudary is the founder and CEO of Platformation Labs and a senior fellow at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. An expert on AI, platforms, and the economics of big tech, he has sold more than half a million books on these topics. In his latest work, he explores how new forms of coordination—rather than automation and augmentation—are the true superpower of AI.

In his conversation with Adam Job, senior director at the BCG Henderson Institute, he discusses how AI will supercharge coordination, move us towards a more modular, on-demand economy, and how companies can account for all of this in their strategies.

Key topics discussed: 

[01:31] How AI will impact jobs
[04:38] Assessing the value of jobs
[09:25] AI’s power to supercharge coordination
[14:23] Unlocking “coordination without consensus”
[19:00] Moving towards a modular, on-demand economy
[25:56] Crafting a strategy for the age of AI

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About the BCG Henderson Institute

The BCG Henderson Institute is the Boston Consulting Group’s think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, economics, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business. For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Reshuffle with Sangeet Paul Choudary

Inspiring and thought-provoking conversations with leading thinkers about influential ideas on business, technology, economics, and science. Hosted by Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, and Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Global Chief Economist of BCG.

For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Reshuffle with Sangeet Paul Choudary

Thinkers & Ideas / BCG Henderson Institute

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