Hostage at the Table: How Leaders Can Overcome Conflict, Influence Others, and Raise Performance

This book taught me useful life lessons. I’m going to be reading other books by the author

Reading the Hostage at the Table and applying its concepts can be a life-changing experience - as I personally experienced for myself and with numerous other people. If you have a chance to attend George Kohlrieser's High Performance Leadership program at IMD, this notion is enhanced even more tangibly. But even the book alone, if you let it sink in, can provide priceless insights into self and others, for your personal and professional growth alike. Reverting from time to time to read one or the other section again, lets me to discover yet newer layers of insight and inspire yet again anew to new heights. One of my concrete examples, prompted by Kohlrieser's inspiration, to run a marathon on each and all of the 7 continents including Antarctica, I had completed in 7 years by 2011, another was to set up my own business, that I started in 2011 and have grown since. I wish everyone to get the maximum insight and inspiration that this book can offer.

I bought this book in 2007, looking behind to the past 11 years the one thing that shaped my life most was this golden book. The concepts are so powerful, objective and ready to apply that you will see changes in how others interpret you and most importantly how you feel empowered to make the best out of any situation. This book taught me to use emotions, facts and beliefs in a way that will give you the ultimate advantage.My favorite concept from this book was to understand needs, beliefs and facts of the other person which allows you to connect and negotiate better. When you do that, you not only win the argument for both parties involved, you also win their hearts ... Priceless!

Hostage at the Table: How Leaders Can Overcome Conflict, Influence Others, and Raise Performance (J-B Warren Bennis Series) Hostage at the Table is one of those books that we must keep in our "library of life's guides".With his friendly tone and well-orchestrated chapters and themes, George leads us in a positive, constructive and rich journey to a new perspective of Leadership.We can discover, for example, how to overcome difficult transitional moments in life or at work and how to build and re-build our "human leadership personality" by deeply knowing and mastering ourselves.A brilliant, helpful, constructive and inspiring reading. Strongly recommended.

"Hostage at the Table" gave me the tools to grow and to improve my skills and personality. This book rationalizes the concept of being a secure base, skill that has a great impact on the life of every parent and/or team manager. With the help of this book readers become able to recognize situations where they act like hostages and learn how to use the mind's eye to live free and understand their own call. I strongly recommend studying this book and applying its principles in everyday situations. Hostage at the Table: How Leaders Can Overcome Conflict, Influence Others, and Raise Performance (J-B Warren Bennis Series)

I refer to a select handful of management references in my work as a management consultant (aka corporate troubleshooter) and Hostage at the Table is a worthy addition to my reference library. George K's principles of authenticity and genuine dialogue have been of enormous help to me in facilitating often skeptical management teams. Getting the '"fish on the table" invaluable in coaching clients, themselves held hostage within their own organisations. My world (dare I say it the world) is a better place for this book. Family or business the principles apply. George, a follow-on workbook would be the perfect sequel.

Once you free your mind and find a way to flow, you can release yourself from the hostage stage. I loved the cases and the experience written in this book, with a clear and holistic view, George shows how to manage the conflict, always “putting the fish at the table”...

Helpful and worth the buy

Read and re-read this book over the last couple of years. it provides great personal insight though shared experiences that George explains. The good thing about this book, is you can pick it up after a few months to remind you of situations. I found it very easy to relate my personal issues, and realise development areas through readingt the chaprters. I found myslef saying very often, WOW! thats me, or thats how i feel or i now know i can change this cycle of events!!Myself, my family, my freinds and my collegues all put the fish on the table quite frequently. There is very little bottling up of emotion anymore.Well Done, and thank you George.

I find the content of the book to shallow and merely scratching on the surface of leadership, negotiation and conflict management. Some examples are "off" from my perspective, e.g. Lance Armstrong! Overall, the book does not do the topics it intends to address justice, i.e. it is something someone would read at an airport when bored out of his / her mind.

An interesting read. I have utilised a number of suggestions and behaviours from the book to good purpose in dealings with customers / business sponsors and also peers.

In my view the book is too high level. What recommends makes sense but there is little on how to put them in practice. For me that does not help.

Want a great book, it I a easy to read, so very interesting with lots of real life examples-worth reading