Hi there, it's Michael, the author. You might know my previous book, The Coaching Habit. It was an unexpected bestseller: more than 700,000 copies sold so far, 1,000+ 5-star reviews on Amazon (my favourite: I have plodded through many books that wish they could be this book), a Wall Street Journal bestseller, and used by people and organizations around the world.

So I've been sweating on the follow-up. The pressure! The anticipation! But here it is, and I think you're going to like it. If The Coaching Habit says, here are the seven essential questions to be more coach-like, The Advice Trap is about getting to grips with how to actually change your behaviour so you stay curious a little bit longer.

It sounds like it should be easy, but it's not. You have to tame your Advice Monster, that part of you that jumps in to offer up ideas, opinions, suggestions and advice. And it's taming your Advice Monster that's at the heart of this book. But there are also some specific coaching strategies, particularly on how to focus on what matters most. There are tools to make your conversations, coaching and otherwise, irresistible. There are even resources beyond the book itself, including a one-year, free leadership program from a 52-person faculty of cool, diverse, and provocative thinkers.

In 2019, I was named the #1 Thought Leader in Coaching, and was short-listed for the coaching award by Thinkers50, the Oscars of Management. My work's been featured in journals such as HBR, Fast Company, Forbes, and Inc., and my company, Box of Crayons, has trained more than 100,000 people just like you in the tools and mindset required for this essential leadership behaviour: being more coach-like. You'll get all of that wisdom and experience when you read The Advice Trap. I'm pretty sure you'll find it a great investment of your money and time. (And, by the way, thank you in advance for buying it. I'm thrilled to know the book is going out into the world.)

Your happiness and your success depend on your working relationships

The people you manage. How well you work with your boss. The way collaboration happens with colleagues and peers. How you connect with important prospects and key clients.

But the hard truth is this: most of us leave the health and fate of these relationships to chance.

We say Hi, exchange pleasantries ... and hope for the best.

But every relationship becomes suboptimal at some point, whether it's a good one that goes off the rails or one that was poor from the start.

Mostly we are resigned to the fact that this is what happens: relationships always get a little broken, or a little stale, or a little worse. C'est la vie, c'est la guerre. Carry on.

But it doesn't have to be like this.

Every working relationship can be better.

This book shows you how to build the best possible relationship.

One conversation. Five questions. Detailed guidance on how to prepare and set the relationship up for success. Key insights on how to maintain the relationship so that it will continue to thrive.

Piercingly frank, funny, gorgeous, vulnerable, and ultimately really damn helpful.
-- Julie Lythcott-Haims, New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult

How to Begin is for you if...
You're ambitious, but feel you've never been given full permission to find and strive for what's possible for you.

You've achieved things in your career, and it's now time to climb the second mountain and think about legacy.

You're unhappy with how the world is working right now, and you want to change your part of it for the better.

You're a coach, and you want to support your clients to be great and do great things.

You're at the start of your adult life, and you're fired up to live a life of meaning and impact.

You're ready to begin, and to start doing something that matters.

We unlock our greatness by working on the hard things.
With The Coaching Habit, Michael Bungay Stanier wrote the bestselling coaching book of the century. With The Advice Trap, he showed you how to tame your Advice Monster. Now, he's here to help you reclaim your ambition, figure out what you should do that matters... and begin.

This is your practical guide to finding the focus and courage to set a Worthy Goal: one that lights you up, compels you to grow, and serves a bigger game by being thrilling, important, and daunting.

With Michael's trademark humor, compassion, and laser-focused clarity, you'll walk through a tested process to:
- find and strengthen your Worthy Goal to the very best it can be;
- get absolutely clear on your commitment so you know what you're up for;
- develop the resources to cross the threshold, so you don't have to travel alone;
- build momentum, progress, and impact.

Don't regret a life half-lived. Use this book to start doing something that matters.

***

Piercingly frank, funny, gorgeous, vulnerable, and ultimately really damn helpful.
-- Julie Lythcott-Haims, New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult

Of particular appeal for those of us who instinctively recoil from self-help woo-woo and just want to get on with doing Great Work that leaves the world a bit better than we found it.
-- Courtney Hohne, chief storyteller for Moonshots, X (formerly Google X)

A friendly voice and a guiding hand.
-- Austin Kleon, New York Times bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist

Eminently practical, clever, delightful, and beautifully rendered--a non-fiction Where the Wild Things Are for adult dreamers and doers.
-- Whitney Johnson, bestselling author of Smart Growth and Disrupt Yourself

I loved this book, and that's coming from a gal who's never been big on goals.
-- Liz Wiseman, New York Times bestselling author of Impact Players and Multipliers

Powerful, magical, and compelling. We don't need more time, we simply need to decide.
-- Seth Godin, author, The Practice