Description
In March of 2009, when the world economy was clearly in the midst of a serious recession, Jean Palmer Heck, an international communications advisor, began researching how bad news was being delivered in the workplace. She took her skills as an expert interviewer and asked human resource professionals, psychotherapists, small business owners, corporate managers, and people in all walks of life about their experiences with giving and receiving tough talks.
After researching the subject with hundreds of people who shared accounts of their difficult conversations, many still reeling with emotion, Jean has narrowed their advice and insights down to a 5-step process. Although originally intended to be applied in the workplace, Jean’s 5-step CHECK® system is adaptable to every day tough talks.
What you’ll read...
— 22 case studies
— Foreword by Ron Culp
— 6 chapters:
Chapter One: Squeezed & Torn
Chapter Two: Dribble & Shoot
Chapter Three: Checks & Balances
Chapter Four: Engage & Inspire
Chapter Five: Protect & Defend
Chapter Six: Live & Learn
What others are saying…
Shep Hyken
Author of The Cult of the Customer, a Wall Street Journal and USA Today best seller
Simply put, if you are in any kind of management you need this book. While delivering tough news is never easy, you have to do it—even when you don’t want to. Jean Palmer Heck’s book, Tough Talks™ in Tough Times, provides you a specific process that shows you how to how to do so with style, respect, integrity, and confidence.
Janet Giesselman
President and General Manager, Dow Oil and Gas
Jean Palmer Heck’s methodology for effectively managing tough talks is unparalleled. These situations are always charged. You need a process for dealing with them and her CHECK® system is the answer. Even after all my experience with tough talks, I learned from this book. Executives at my level will benefit from reading this.
William C. Heyman
President and CEO, Heyman Associates, Inc.
In the spirit of Malcolm Gladwell ’s Blink, Jean Palmer Heck “thin slices” straight talk to employees during difficult times better than anyone I know. The sensitivities that Tough Talks™ in Tough Times uncovers demonstrate real insight into human behavior in particularly sensitive times. There is much to be learned from Tough Talks in Tough Times, but none more insightful than knowing when to be quiet. Jean has a great understanding into the human psyche during times when it is difficult to communicate.
Gary McCormick, APR
Partnership Development, HGTV
Whether you find yourself in a Fortune 500 company, your homeowners’ association, or raising children, you face tough talks. The life lessons revealed here have earned this book a permanent place on my shelf. Do yourself a favor—buy two, so you have one to loan!
Joe Calloway
Author of Becoming a Category of One
Jean Palmer Heck delivers a straight forward, honest reality check. Jean’s 5-step CHECK® system for delivering tough talks is invaluable, not just to managers, but to anyone who ever faces challenging conversations (and that’s all of us). This book provides real world strategies to effectively handle the toughest real world situations.