Table Of Content“The simplicity of Rose’s idea—that everything that matt ers happens ‘in t he $24.95
conversation’—is both essential and critical to succ ess in a comple x world.”
–Bob G reen berg , fou nder, cha i rma n a nd C EO, R /G A
sk a grou p of p eo ple to write down t he f irst
ima ge tha t c omes to mind when t hey hea r
A th e wo rd c h ocola te. T he resp on ses w il l
ra n ge f rom M &Ms to exp ensi ve tru f fles , ev en to
“ True brilliance is not about developing complex theories or pontificating La brad or retrie vers. If a simp le w ord like “ chocol ate ”
about piles of research reporting out on what has already happened. True brilliance c an ev oke so ma ny interpre tations— im ages, opinions,
is about simplifying complex issues and harnessing people’s energy to change the a nd a tt it ud es—h ow ma ny more c a n oc c ur wh en
R o s e Fa s s i s t h e f o u n d e r a n d C E O o f world. In that light, The Chocolate Conversation is simply brilliant.” t here’s so meth in g li ke a new c omp lex co mpa n y
fa ssfor wa rd C onsu lti ng G roup, a lead i ng-edge –Martha Delehanty, senior vice president, Human Resources, stra tegy at st a ke?
business transformation boutiq ue. Rose work s w ith Verizon Enterprise Solutions In The Choc olate Conve rsation, Fa ss desc ribes how
executive tea ms from Fortu ne 500 compa nies. Her conversations a rou nd strategy too oft en break down
work del i vers tho u g ht leadersh ip a lon g w it h a nd, more importa ntly, h ow to fix t he problem. Sh e
met hodolog ies a nd tool s th at ena ble cl ient s to believ es t ha t leaders h av e t o be more th an “good
address tough cha llenges , solve complex business “My senior leadership team was formed through acquisitions, c ommu n ic at ors,” t hey need t o be t ra nsla to rs –
problems, execute on thei r strateg ies, and del iver restructuring, and a compelling need to reinvent our business. We had a clear un derstan ding where every on e is a nd how every on e
bottom-line results . mission, or so we thought. Instead our team was fragmented and we needed help. f it s in order to get the compa ny where it n eeds to be.
In walks a dynamic, insightful woman asking us to define chocolate?! It triggered
htSehecreh cnhaoarlsoe goeyvr e asrnh 3de5 c hyoaensas urhsma odef r f-cubolarls pePod&r iaLnt deru eessxtprpioeenrsi.s eDinbucirlei ntiyng ath ceo fnuvteurrsea—tioan dth taot i lnesdt euasd t ofr raemcoe gan uizneif tihedat s ptraastte vgiyc taonrdie fso wcuosueldd ancottio tnaks.e” us into Fsuacssc teeslsl so urs ftahialtu rthee i sni nbgilge bfaucstionre tshsa tt oddeat eyr mi si nt hese
a nd led m ajor c or porate t ra n sfor mat ion s . A s t he –Karen T. Cone, general manager, Worldwide Financial Services, Microsof t c onvers at ion. G rea t lea ders use pu blic a n d priv at e
Chief Transformation Officer at Xerox Corporation, c onve rsa tio ns t o c u lti va te a c ommo n worldv i ew,
Rose led the tra nsition to the globa l i ndustr y a nd set st a nd a rd s , a n d u nc o ver c on c er ns t h a t c a n
solutions busi ness . u n der mi ne th e g oa ls of t he orga ni z at io n . I n a
“The Chocolate Conversation is a must-read and field manual for l ight- hea rte d an d hu morous w ay, she use s c hocolat e
A dy na mic spea ker, Rose is freq uently inv ited to anyone setting out to change their company. From the heart and hand of the master a s a p rox y t o p rov id e a sim ple met h od f or h ow
spea k at private a nd pu bl ic sector events . She is change-maker herself, Rose Fass shares her warmth and wit, down-to-earth style, bu sin esse s c a n avoid a m eltdow n a nd hav e com ple te
l isted i n Forbes’ 2 012 , Top 10 Women Busi ness and galvanizing authority on every page.” le ade rsh ip conve rsat ions t hat m ove a ll st ake holde rs
Leaders of New York . Her firm has been awarded
–Kevin Allen, founder and CEO, re:kap, and author of the WSJ best-seller to a c tion . Fas s, experien ced c orp ora te exec ut iv e
the Inc. 500 | 5000 for three consecutive years. Visit
The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Win Business and Create a Following a n d bu si nes s tra n sf orm a tio n c on su lt a nt , sh ows
Rose at w w w.fassfor wa rd.com. le a d er s h o w t o a c h i ev e g r o w t h , s c a l e, a n d
pro duc ti vi ty b y foc usin g on relev a nc e—th e most
imp orta n t issu e i n bu siness t oda y.
Business/Leadership
Also available in e-book and enhanced e-book editions. I S BN 978-1-937134-49-5
5 2 4 9 5
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www.bibliomotion.com www.bibliomotion.com
Jacket Desig n by Cor y L asser
9 7 8 1 9 3 7 1 3 4 4 9 5
the chocolate conversation rose fass
Praise for
The Chocolate Conversation and Rose Fass
“Rose Fass is the undisputed master of organizational dynamics,
and this book proves she has the bead on what it takes to trans-
form companies and brands in these challenging times. The
simplicity of her idea—that everything that matters happens ‘in
the conversation’—is both essential and critical for success in a
complex world. Read the book, join the conversation, and bask
in Rose’s wisdom, as I’ve done many times in my career.”
— Bob Greenberg, founder, chairman and CEO, R/GA
“My senior leadership team was formed through acquisitions,
restructuring, and a compelling need to reinvent our business. We
had a clear mission, or so we thought. Instead our team was
fragmented and we needed help. In walks a dynamic, insightful
woman asking us to define chocolate?! It triggered a conversation
that led us to recognize that past victories would not take us into
the future—and to instead frame a unified strategy and focused
actions. We got the job done. When I assumed my next execu-
tive leadership role, the first call I made was to that same dynamic
woman, Rose Fass, for my next ‘chocolate conversation.’ ”
— Karen T. Cone, general manager,
Worldwide Financial Services, Microsoft
“Rose Fass is a skilled practitioner of the thoughts, ideas, and con-
cepts she writes about in this outstanding book. The Chocolate
Conversation is not a pie in the sky reading. Her conversa-
tions with you throughout these pages are full of rich insight
that will strip away the fluff and demonstrate that meaningful
organizational change is rooted in multi-level, cross-functional
conversations. Rose’s book underscores the old maxim: if you
don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevancy even less.”
— Thomas A. Kayser, author of
Mining Group Gold and Building Team Power
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“The Chocolate Conversation is a must-read and field m anual
for anyone setting out to change their company from the heart
and hand of the master change maker herself, Rose Fass. Rose’s
warmth and wit, down-to-earth style, and galvanizing author-
ity is on every page. “Run, don’t walk, to get your copy of this
delightful and wildly informative book.”
— Kevin Allen, founder and CEO, re:kap, and
author of the WSJ best-seller The Hidden Agenda:
A Proven Way to Win Business and Create a Following
“Rose Fass has written a remarkably rich book that carries the
reader along swiftly, easily, and enjoyably from cover to cover.
Rose shows her experienced judgment on how to reframe think-
ing and conversations, and incites her readers to take action.”
— Peter Koestenbaum, PhD, founder and
chairman of PiB and the Koestenbaum Institute
“True brilliance is not about developing complex theories or
pontificating about piles of research reporting out on what has
already happened. True brilliance is about simplifying complex
issues and harnessing people’s energy to change the world. In
that light, The Chocolate Conversion is simply brilliant. Rose
brings her experience, inherent intellect, and frankly raw tal-
ent forward in to this book. She is a strategist, motivator, and
business leader. She brings clarity to chaos, finds solutions to
big business problems, and most importantly drives and deliv-
ers results. Putting the tools delivered in this book into action
will be the single most important business investment you can
make in the coming years.”
— Martha Delehanty, SVP, Human Resources,
Verizon Enterprise Solutions
“I know Rose and, boy, do I know chocolate. Together they
hold a conversation that will change you and your company. In
today’s world, laden with so many know-it-all books full of the
same old promises, Rose Fass’ insights beg us to have a dialogue
that reframes our thinking and ‘talk time’ to get people to act.”
— Albert Gaulden, founding director, The Sedona
I ntensive™ and author of You’re Not Who You Think You Are
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the
chocolate conversation
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rose fass
t h e
chocolate conversation
Lead Bittersweet Change,
Transform Your Business
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First published by Bibliomotion, Inc.
33 Manchester Road
Brookline, MA 02446
Tel: 6 17-9 34-2 427
www.bibliomotion.com
Copyright © 2013 by Rose Fass
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except
in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fass, Rose.
The chocolate conversation : lead bittersweet change, transform
your business / by Rose Fass.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-937134-49-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-1-937134-50-1 (ebook) — ISBN 978-1-937134-51-8
(enhanced ebook)
1. Organizational change. 2. Leadership. I. Title.
HD58.8.F369 2013
658.4'063—dc23
2012050427
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For my Dad,
Peter Angelo Mazza
June 6, 1 923–A ugust 18, 2012
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Contents
Foreword xi
Preface xiii
Introduction xxi
1 Death by Chocolate: Unwrapping
Chocolate Conversations 1
2 Mergers & Acquisitions: A Petri
Dish for Chocolate Conversations 21
3 Addicted to Relevance 35
4 It Starts with You 57
5 Why Do Good People Have
Bad Conversations? 75
6 Go There 97
7 Message Discipline 113
8 Extending Your Reach 131
9 Change Is Bittersweet 157
Conclusion 169
Sketchnotes 173
Endnotes 193
Acknowledgments 197
Index 199
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