Colm O’Regan talks about talks

I’m reading a self-help book: Crucial Conversations — Tools For Talking When The Stakes Are High. It’s the archetypal business management book.

The cover has the type of serifed typeface you associate with books for people who work hard and play hard, and who get all their daily Vitamin C content in just one handy capsule which they knock back before running to catch a commuter train or coming up with a good idea in a meeting. Normally I hate self-help books because they require me to do something. But my negotiating abilities need some assistance.

I can’t even negotiate with myself. Each morning sees a battle between the two Colms who currently work at OReganTec. The Colm 1 a go-ahead change management specialist, is looking to implement a programme of constant improvement and drive efficiencies through initiatives — like getting out of bed when the alarm goes off. But to get anything done he’ll need to convince The Colm 2 who works in Operations. He is a wiley oldtimer who has been with the company from the beginning, is unwilling to change and knows every trick in the book in order to avoid initiatives.