Mystery Gift Box #043 | The Six Characteristics of An Exceptional Relationship

Hey friends,

The Interpersonal Dynamics module from the Stanford Business School.

Also known as the “Touchy-Feely” module; it’s the most famous and popular module offered in the Stanford MBA course. The module aims to provide students the knowledge and skills to build exceptional relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. David Bradford and Carole Robin has been running the module for decades and have decided to put the class materials in book form! 🔥

The book is called Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends and Colleagues.

I read Connect two years ago and it’s definitely one of the “best of the best” relationship books out there! There are many lessons, case studies, and exercises throughout the book but here are the six characteristics of an exceptional relationship:

1. You can be more fully yourself, and so can the other person.

2. Both of you are willing to be vulnerable.

3. You trust that self-disclosures will not be used against you.

4. You can be honest with each other.

5. You deal with conflict productively.

6. Both of you are committed to each other’s growth and development.

The first three characteristics are centre around self-disclosure. It doesn’t mean that you have to reveal everything to a single person… but you do have to share the real and authentic parts of yourself that are important to that specific relationship.

The last three characteristics are centre around feedback and conflict. In an exceptional relationship, it’s easier to raise and resolve issues so that they don’t lurk and result in long-term damage. Having the ability to handle conflicts and take and give feedbacks effectively is therefore crucial to an exceptional relationship.

⛰ 4-4-4 Exploration Project

January 2023: Writing and Storytelling (Subject) ✅

February 2023: KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities (Cirque Du Soleil — Experience) ✅

March 2023: 28 Days of Cold Exposure (Subject and Experience) ✅

April 2023: Complete Growth / Product Marketing Course (Subject) 🟥

May 2023: LL project (Skill + Subject) ✅

June 2023: LL project 2 (Skill + Subject) 🟧

📚 This week, I finished reading…

Have interesting gems you want to share with me and others? Share it by replying to this email and I will include it in the next gift box :)

With love,

Ryan O. 🎮

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