In our work, we have noticed that candid and curious conversation is a basic building block for creating high-functioning improvement teams. For example, one of the six core principles of improvement states, “See the system that produces the current outcomes.” It is impossible to see the system unless you can say what you see and you are curious about what others see. We have learned from Craig Weber’s approach to having open, balanced, non-defensive dialogue about difficult subjects. In Conversational Capacity, Weber makes this case: if our conversational capacity is high, we can stay on track, productively addressing even our most troublesome issues. But if it’s too low, even a minor issue can derail our effectiveness. Like Weber, we believe candid and curious conversation is a skill that can improve with practice, and we’ve learned more about this from reading his book.