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I REALLY MEANT TO TELL YOU... by Jeff  Hutsell

I REALLY MEANT TO TELL YOU...

Finding the Courage for Kindness

by Jeff Hutsell

Pub Date: July 25th, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63183-310-6
Publisher: BookLogix

A debut business-coaching guide focuses on kind, affirmative messages that too often go unspoken.

After a lifetime of working in the business world, both leading his own and others’ companies, Hutsell in his book concentrates on elements that are too often missing from similar self-help and motivation manuals: positive commentary and uplifting encounters. In both the personal and professional spheres, the author notes, it’s often far easier to concentrate on ambition or criticism than to have the bravery necessary to say nice things directly to people—rather than indirectly and too late. (The standard example is offering words at a eulogy that would have been far better said face to face.) Whether one is dealing with marriage partners, parents, co-workers, bosses, or teachers, the guide provides hypotheticals and specific breakdowns of how these interactions can harden in their usage and crowd out what the author refers to as “Fundamental Questions”: “How am I doing with you?” and “What does that mean for me?” Hutsell’s main point is that the caring, more empathetic interactions too many people neglect are the lifeblood of improved relationships—and the source of inevitable regrets, reflected in a pertinent quote from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” In an appealingly personal strand running through the volume, Hutsell uses stories of his own regrets in his past relationships to illuminate the many ways people fail to appreciate the power of words in family and professional interactions. “We all remember our best boss,” he writes at one point. “But how many of us have ever told them?” Through tales and examples, the guide outlines tactics for seizing this type of missed opportunity and actually telling people they’re valued. The open, confessional tone maintained throughout should make the book’s unconventional message widely inviting.

A frank and richly detailed manual that advises readers to have the courage to inject more compassion and positivity into daily conversations.