What do you think?
Rate this book
HIGH TQ: Why It Matters More Than Expertise
Ask a capable professional why a deal stalled, a partnership drifted, or a team kept working hard and kept falling short, and you'll hear about timing, resources, the wrong people in the room. Ask them what was actually agreed to, and you get a pause. That pause is the reason this book exists.
Underneath nearly every conversation runs a second layer — the exchange that actually produces the outcome. Most professionals have never been taught to see it. They've been taught expertise more credentials, deeper knowledge, sharper skills. Expertise earns you the room. What happens once you're in it is decided somewhere else. High TQ names that layer and makes it navigable.
Transactional Intelligence (TQ) is a structured methodology for navigating the hidden layer beneath every conversation—the human exchanges that produce every outcome. TQ makes those exchanges visible, so you can navigate them consciously.
Developed by Kirkland Tibbels and John Patterson and refined since 2009 with thousands of practitioners in more than twenty countries across six continents, TQ is distinct from IQ and where those live in you, TQ lives in the conversation between you. It is observable and learnable.
Inside, you'll
The Transaction Cycle — the structure a consequential exchange follows, and the precise points where most get stalled;
Personality in Transaction — how you tend to move in professional exchanges, and what your pattern reliably costs you;
Infinity Loops — the repeating breakdowns that keep capable people circling the same outcome for years without naming it.
High TQ and Low TQ — the difference between an exchange made visible and an exchange running blind, and how to move from one to the other.
As AI commoditizes knowledge, human exchange becomes the differentiator. For executives, founders, HR and organizational development leaders, salespeople, coaches, consultants, and anyone whose results depend on other people saying yes — and meaning it.
Underneath nearly every conversation runs a second layer — the exchange that actually produces the outcome. Most professionals have never been taught to see it. They've been taught expertise more credentials, deeper knowledge, sharper skills. Expertise earns you the room. What happens once you're in it is decided somewhere else. High TQ names that layer and makes it navigable.
Transactional Intelligence (TQ) is a structured methodology for navigating the hidden layer beneath every conversation—the human exchanges that produce every outcome. TQ makes those exchanges visible, so you can navigate them consciously.
Developed by Kirkland Tibbels and John Patterson and refined since 2009 with thousands of practitioners in more than twenty countries across six continents, TQ is distinct from IQ and where those live in you, TQ lives in the conversation between you. It is observable and learnable.
Inside, you'll
The Transaction Cycle — the structure a consequential exchange follows, and the precise points where most get stalled;
Personality in Transaction — how you tend to move in professional exchanges, and what your pattern reliably costs you;
Infinity Loops — the repeating breakdowns that keep capable people circling the same outcome for years without naming it.
High TQ and Low TQ — the difference between an exchange made visible and an exchange running blind, and how to move from one to the other.
As AI commoditizes knowledge, human exchange becomes the differentiator. For executives, founders, HR and organizational development leaders, salespeople, coaches, consultants, and anyone whose results depend on other people saying yes — and meaning it.
280 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 4, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 4, 2026
Transactional Intelligence® is a game-changer. It cuts through friction and helps people move things forward. In the programs I have facilitated, I see people gain real clarity on how they work best and how to bring out the best in others, leading to better decisions and smoother collaboration. For me, it’s the missing ingredient that helps individuals and teams get to “yes” faster.
August 4, 2026
Enlightened
What a wonderfully enlightened read. The distinctions shared made a huge impact in my way of thinking and moving in the world. Wow. I feel empowered. Thank you!
What a wonderfully enlightened read. The distinctions shared made a huge impact in my way of thinking and moving in the world. Wow. I feel empowered. Thank you!
August 5, 2026
Something to revisit over and over again.
This book is almost too powerful. It will make you one of the most effective people in any transaction you navigate - which is why you don't read it once. You study it. You return to it yearly. This is the book I keep on my desk and will give to my children.
This book is almost too powerful. It will make you one of the most effective people in any transaction you navigate - which is why you don't read it once. You study it. You return to it yearly. This is the book I keep on my desk and will give to my children.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews