Michael Bungay Stanier
Michael Bungay Stanier, also known as MBS, is an Australian author, teacher and podcast host in Toronto who helps people ask better questions, work well together and start work that matters.
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Latest
Michael’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Overview
- Also known as
- MBS
- From
- Australia; based in Toronto, Canada
- Creates
- Books, podcasts, courses and talks on coaching, curiosity and change
- Started
- Founded Box of Crayons in 2002
- Breakout
- The Coaching Habit (2016), which went on to sell more than a million copies
Mini bio
Finding his own way.
Michael is Australian by birth and now lives in Toronto. A Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he took a winding route into teaching and writing. In his Creator Science interview, he recalled moving to Canada after a job fell through, losing a temporary job and starting Box of Crayons in 2002 out of necessity.
The questions that travelled.
His 2016 book The Coaching Habit brought seven practical coaching questions to a much wider audience. It went on to sell more than a million copies. The Advice Trap followed in 2020, exploring the urge to jump in with answers and how to stay curious instead.
More ways to begin.
How to Begin helps readers choose and start a worthy goal. How to Work with (Almost) Anyone turns to the conversations that make working relationships healthier. Through MBS Works, Michael brings his books together with courses, tools and a community called The Conspiracy. His Change Signal podcast explores how people and organizations navigate change.
Creditschronological, newest first
- 2026The Coaching Habit: 10th anniversary illustrated editionAuthor
- 2023How to Work with (Almost) AnyoneAuthor
- 2022How to BeginAuthor
- 2020The Advice TrapAuthor
- 2016The Coaching HabitAuthor
Awards
Quotes
I take the work seriously, but not myself.Michael Bungay Stanier, official MBS Works biography
Trivia
- He lists ukulele player among the many roles on his official biography.
- He wrote a paid romance-style short story about a misdelivered letter, called The Male Delivery.
- He promised each of his five nieces and nephews a two-week trip anywhere in the world when they reached their early twenties.
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