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Radical Candor

How to Get What You Want by Saying What You Mean

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Radical Candor

By: Kim Scott
Narrated by: Kim Scott
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About this listen

Read by the author, Kim Scott

A practical guide to those bewildered or exhausted by management, written for bosses and those who manage bosses. Drawing on years of first-hand experience, Radical Candor shows you how to be successful while retaining your integrity and humanity. From Kim Scott, former manager at Google and Apple, and CEO coach to Silicon Valley.

'Reading Radical Candor will help you build, lead, and inspire teams to do the best work of their lives' – Sheryl Sandberg, former chief operating officer at Meta (Facebook) and author of Lean In

If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all . . . right?

While this advice may work for home life, as Kim Scott has seen first hand, it is a disaster when adopted by managers in the work place.

Scott earned her stripes as a highly successful manager at Google before moving to Apple where she developed a class on optimal management. Radical Candor draws directly on her experiences at these cutting edge companies to reveal a new approach to effective management that delivers huge success by inspiring teams to work better together by embracing fierce conversations.

Radical Candor is the sweet spot between managers who are obnoxiously aggressive on the one side and ruinously empathetic on the other. It is about providing guidance, which involves a mix of praise as well as criticism – delivered to produce better results and help your employees develop their skills and increase success.

Great bosses have a strong relationship with their employees, and Scott has identified three simple principles for building better relationships with your employees:

  • Make it personal
  • Get stuff done
  • Understand why it matters


Radical Candor is the perfect handbook for those who are looking to find meaning in their job and create an environment where people love both their work and their colleagues, and are motivated to strive to ever greater success.

'If you manage people - whether it be 1 person or a 1,000 - you need Radical Candor. Now' – Daniel H. Pink, author of the New York Times bestseller Drive

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Critic Reviews

Reading Radical Candor will help you build, lead, and inspire teams to do the best work of their lives (Sheryl Sandberg, former chief operating officer at Meta (Facebook) and author of Lean In)
Kim Scott has a well-earned reputation as a kickass boss and a voice that CEOs take seriously. In this remarkable book, she draws on her extensive experience to provide clear and honest guidance on the fundamentals of leading others: how to give (and receive) feedback, how to make smart decisions, how to keep moving forward, and much more. If you manage people – whether it be 1 person or a 1,000 – you need Radical Candor. Now (Daniel H. Pink, author of the New York Times bestseller Drive)
I raced through Radical Candor – it's thrilling to learn a framework that shows how to be both a better boss and a better colleague. Radical Candor is packed with illuminating truths, insightful advice, and practical suggestions, all illustrated with engaging (and often funny) stories from Kim Scott's own experiences at places like Apple, Google, and various start-ups. Indispensable (Gretchen Rubin, author of the New York Times bestseller The Happiness Project)
All stars
Most relevant
In a world brimming with leadership advice, Radical Candor stands out as a practical, relatable guide to building stronger, more effective teams. Kim’s authentic voice and insightful storytelling make the book an engaging and informative read, well-suited for both veteran managers and those just starting their leadership journey. The concepts are interesting and a few of them could sound very familiar to the seasoned managers.

A must read for every people leader

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Kim gives simple advice about dealing with tricky conversations through becoming a leader who listens and values others and in turn, achieves great outcomes! Excellent examples of her interesting career life!
I wish there was a PDF of the information displayed in tables or graphics as an extra.

Simple but highly effective and valuable advice

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Really excellent book.

Her framework for managing difficult scenarios is extremely simple.

I was sick of reading those Silicon Valley books where the author is a saint, and has never made a mistake in their life. Kim details all her learnings from her mistakes, which makes this relatable, as well as practical.

Not a super great audio performance, there are some moments when it’s super clear there’s been a gap in the recording - but I’m being a little nit picky.

Excellent, practical, and human

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As a professional who has recently been assigned a team of direct reports I found this incredibly helpful. It helped highlight the behaviours that I had overlooked as the root characteristics of both poor and great bosses.

Great start for a new team-leader

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Easy to get though, excellent advice and well structured to help, great book for all leaders in any industry

great guide

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