Title: Radical Candor
Author: Kim Scott
Type: Non-Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 250
Rating: 3/5
This is another one of the business books that I picked up and read because I had to write a spark notes style summary for a client. I actually listened to it on audio book first because that was what delivered to me, and then I had to buy another copy in paperback for my library.
The main issue that I had with this is that it felt as though there wasn’t enough here to fill the book. It’s the first book that I’ve read for this client so far where I’ve struggled to stretch the summary out to 2,000 words, although I do think that what Scott has to say is worth reading. I just think this could have been half the size and still communicated the core message.
The idea of radical candor is that people respect you more as a leader if you’re open and honest with them. One example of this in action is when Scott had an employee who was underperforming but who she also liked as a person. Instead of risking their friendship by confronting the employee, she kept on putting it off until eventually, his performance dropped to such a point that she had to let him go. Then, when she fired him, he was upset because he had no idea that he was doing anything wrong. It’s certainly food for thought.
