Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends and Colleagues by David L. Bradford

Often described as transformational, ‘Interpersonal Dynamics’ has been the most popular elective course on the Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA for forty-five years. Distilled into a book for the first time, Dr David L. Bradford and Dr Carole Robin use seventy-five years of their teaching on the course to explain how to build more powerful and satisfying relationships with colleagues, partners and friends.

The structure of the book follows the general arc of relationships, with real-life examples from the course, the authors’ work with organisations, their own personal lives, and even their working relationship with each other. Focusing on relationship-building through self-awareness, engagement, communication, building trust, and giving and receiving feedback, the practical takeaways and memorable concepts have been honed over decades of teaching. At the end, self-assessments help to deepen the reader’s learning. It’s the proven route to better, more fulfilling relationships at home and at work.