In this first episode of The Human Behind the Work mini-series, I’m joined by someone whose books have sat on my shelves and in my hands, many times over: Michael Bungay Stanier. You may know him as the author of The Coaching Habit, The Advice Trap and How to Work with (Almost) Anyone. This conversation is about more than his books.

We explore:

• The dance between complexity and simplicity

• Why he writes short books—and how he hopes people read them

• His evolving “worthy goals” (including selling 10 million books!)

• How feedback and editing shape his process

• And the one question he asks himself every day: What do I want?

This is a thoughtful, generous and quietly powerful conversation about doing the work that matters and being human in process.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Coaching Habit

• The Advice Trap

• How to Work with (Almost) Anyone

• Do Something That Matters Journal 

• Two Pages with MBS podcast - episode with Austin Kleon

This conversation was originally recorded as part of the World Education Summit 2024.  You can now access 4 years of Summit content free at www.weslegacy.com