Radical Candor feels like a solid book on being a manager. It has theory for activities that are easily repeated without an understanding as to why. For example, it proposes a framework for why we hold meetings. Obviously, so that people will meet; but without a conscious understanding that "debate" is separate from "decide", you might talk in circles. The book also has practical guidance. For example, it provides a scaffolding for 1-on-1 conversations. The points are illustrated with celebrity anecdotes (many from Google and Apple). These offer some social proof, and I'd believe that some people are persuaded by Steve Jobs telling them something. It is hard to shake the feeling, though, that some of this only works because it was developed for high-performing organisations.

I find the book worthwhile. It feels foundational, and provides coverage of the basics. I especially appreciated the practical guidance which allows for directly applying the theory in the book. The guidance itself also includes many useful insights as the author explains the rationale for it. Strong endorse.

Radical Candor

The titular idea of Radical Candor is that being a good boss involve the combination of:

• Care Personally : you have to care about the people who work for you_as human beings_
• Challenge Directly : giving honest feedback, even if it is disappointing

To drive the point: Radical Candor is not a license to be an awful person by "telling it like it is".

These 2 characteristics lead to the inevitable 2x2 grid.

	Callenge indirectly	Challenge directly
Care personally	Ruinous Empathy	Radical Candor
Not caring personally	Manipulative Insincerity	Obnoxious Aggression

• Obnoxious Aggression : giving valid feedback, but in a way that doesn't care about the humans involved, such as by belittling and publicly shaming them
• Manipulative Insincerity : giving feedback that cares neither for the truth nor for the people involved, but is offered mostly for its expediency^[1]
• Ruinous Empathy : giving feedback that is designed more to make the recipient (and giver!) feel better. This can even overshadow recognising genuinely good work and pushing for more of it

For Ruinous Empathy: If you can't tell someone their work isn't meeting standards, think about whether that's because you want them to like you more than you want them to do well in their role. If they don't know they need to improve, how will they improve before they need to be fired?

Talent Management

The book presents a framework for "talent management". Instead of focusing just on the quality of performance, it also factors in the Growth Trajectory of the employee. This ties back to the original thesis of Care Personally about the actual humans on your team. This framework is used effectively to give practical advice.

The Getting Stuff Done wheel

The book presents a 7-phase cycle for decision making:

1. Listen : gain information about the problem
2. Clarify : clearly define the ideas at play, rather than dealing with half-baked ones
3. Debate : discuss the merits of proposals
4. Decide : come to a decision on the course of action to take
5. Persuade : get everyone on board that this is what we're doing
6. Execute : get it done
7. Learn : improve

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1. I found this book in a thrift store and recognised the title, but I couldn't remember if it was recommended or if it could be summarised as "You'd be a better boss if you weren't a lying snake all the time". That hypothetical book would be addressed at people in this quadrant. ↩︎