256. Be Kind: The Most Overlooked Driver of Success

Hi. Matt here. Do you dread small talk? The awkwardness, the not knowing what to say, the worry over how to start and how to end? Well, worry no more. You can learn to be better at this important skill. Start 2026 right by participating in a free small talk learning quest on our think fast, talk smart learning community. Beginning January 20 at 8AM Pacific, I will host a free four day learning quest that will teach you best practices to make small talk not only easier and more productive, but fun. Each day during the free quest, you'll either log in live 8AM Pacific or watch the recording of it. I'll introduce you to your daily task and give you some quick guidance you can join in at any point. Each day's skill will help you in and of itself. You'll also get to join one of our regular book clubs taking place on the second day of the quest. This is a fun, free, low stress way to learn with like minded people from around the world. Sign up for our learning community by January 19 to participate. Go to fastersmarter.io/learning. Again, that's fastersmarter.io/learning. Hi. Matt here. The start of the new year gives us a moment to rethink how we work. And I don't know about you, but I wanna work more efficiently. And that's why I'm going to double down on Grammarly. Grammarly has been super helpful to me. It brings everything I need to do when writing all together. So I can take my writing from draft to done in one place, emails, presentations, proposals. I don't lose momentum, and you won't either. Grammarly even helps you use AI more thoughtfully and thoroughly. You can get real time suggestions, refine your tone, or ask for help, all while keeping your own voice front and center. I found it saves time and makes writing feel more manageable and even enjoyable. In fact, 90% of professionals say Grammarly saves them time, writing, and editing. Sign up for Grammarly free and take your professional writing from draft to done. Visit grammarly.com. That's grammarly.com. In business and in communication, we focus too much on return on investment instead of looking at return on kindness. My name is Matt Abrahams, and I teach strategic communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Welcome to Think Fast, Talk Smart, the podcast. Today, I look forward to speaking with Bonnie Hayden Chang. Bonnie is a professor of management at City University of Hong Kong. Her research explores how workplace behaviors affect interpersonal dynamics and well-being. She studies things such as kindness and inclusion. She is the author of the book, The Return on Kindness, How Kind Leadership Wins Talent, Earns Loyalty, and Builds Successful Companies. Welcome, Bonnie. I am super excited to have you here, and it's great to be in Hong Kong. Welcome to Hong Kong. I'm thrilled to be here. Thanks. Shall we get started? Yes. Your work focuses on …