FCW: “I recently finished a new book called The Power of Flexing by University of Michigan Business School professor Susan Ashford. (For the record, this is my favorite business school in the country, filled with great professors dedicated to a humane view of organizations.)  I will confess I was turned off by the “flexing” title of the book. The book is about something straightforward, increasing your effectiveness in interpersonal situations. The word “flexing” is itself strange – to me, flexing is something you do with muscles. And the book at the beginning defines flexing in an unhelpful way, talking about setting “flex” goals, conducting experiments to see what techniques work, and reflecting on what you’ve learned. Bleck. But despite the bad title and the introductory verbiage, this is a great book, filled with insights about human behavior and, more importantly, practical and actionable suggestions about how to improve yourself. Here are a few, divided into insights about behavior and practical steps you can take to improve. (Again, you will note that some have nothing to do with “flexing” but rather with growing and improving as a person.)..”