Book Capsules, April 2025

Conflict Resilience
Robert C. Bordone and Joel Salinas
Harper Business, 400 pp., $29.99

Conflict is thriving in modern society, and this book intends to do something about that problem. Bordone and Salinas, former Harvard University faculty, define conflict resilience as the radical act of sitting with and growing
from conflict to break bad habits that sabotage workplaces and important relationships. The solution to being unable or unwilling to negotiate conflict is the conflict resilience skill set, which relies on a three-step framework: name, explore, and commit. This book uses practical applications of advanced conflict management and studies of the human brain to teach readers how to navigate conflict and produce agreement and unity.

Wild Courage
Jenny Wood
Portfolio, 256 pp., $29

Having spent almost two decades using her ambition to climb the ranks at Google, Wood knows how to be an effective leader. To develop talent and move up the corporate ladder, individuals must be weird, selfish, shameless, obsessed, nosy, manipulative, brutal, reckless, and bossy, Wood writes. Even though each of those nine traits has a negative connotation, the author demonstrates the positive ways to apply each one to supercharge success; break through fears of discomfort, failure, and judgment; and develop the courage to become their best selves. Wood tosses conventional wisdom out the window, recommending that readers unapologetically go after what they want.