I was terribly late with this review (apologies to the Editor) so ‘ran’ into it with the intent of a quick read and review. However, I quickly found myself wading knee-deep through content I really wasn’t expecting. Chris Westfall has written something that you really won’t see coming.

Easier is a story with a set of principles and messages hiding within it. And, if you decide to read it, you first need to understand how you will do so. Bear with, this makes sense.

You have two options – either you read it as a story and enjoy the content (think Tuesdays with Morrie, but without the heartache) or you read it as a way of getting new insights and thinking around your life, your work and your greater purpose. My money is on anyone starting with the former approach, ending up with the latter. The content is unavoidably powerful, and more so because it blind-sides you.

The premise is simple, the story follows a series of coaching interventions between a highly-stressed, buttoned-up Executive and a Coach. Initially, I struggled to empathise with the Exec – his challenges are well-trodden by many and he feels like an amalgam of many people. But as the story unfolds, it dawned on me that that’s exactly what he’s meant to be – he’s a canvas for the Coach to share a thinking structure around life and all its challenges.

Did it move me? Absolutely. I stepped out of the ‘critical reviewer’ mode about halfway through and began to apply much of the content to myself. And there’s a lot. I really wish I’d had more time – you need a highlighter and plenty of pause points to get the most out of this book. Top tip from me is to read one chapter at a time, take a break and let it sink in (a bit like a coaching process).

The beauty of the Exec (or Client, as Westfall labels him) is that we will all see something of ourselves in him. As with all books, take what you need from it – not everything will apply. But, if you struggle with highly structured coaching approaches, then here’s your antidote.

Blame the early start, or that I read it at 35,000 feet, or that I was at the end of a stressful, hectic week, but the book’s ending gave me an emotional hijack that has left a lasting impression and burnt-in memory of the story’s content.

Read with caution.

Published by Wiley

Chris Preston is a culture expert and one of the founding partners of The Culture Builders