Solving tough problems : an open way of talking, listening, and creating new realities

Adam Kahane spent years working in the world's hotspots, and came away with a new understanding of how to resolve conflict in a way that seems reasonable - and doable - to all parties. The result is Solving Tough Problems. Written in a relaxed, persuasive style, this is not a ""how-to"" book with glib answers, but rather, a very personal story of the author's progress from a young ""expert"" convinced of the need to provide cold, ""correct"" answers to an effective facilitator of positive change - by learning how to create environments that enable new ideas and creative solutions to emerge. The book explores the connection between individual learning and institutional change, and how leaders can move beyond politeness and formal statements, beyond routine debate and defensiveness, toward deeper and more productive dialogue. Both tough and inspiring, the book explores models, technologies, and examples that foster and facilitate ""dialogues of the heart."" Kahane explains how traditional methods of problem solving - expert-driven, piecemeal, best practice - cannot help us solve the increasingly complex problems we face in our communities and organizations. He presents an inclusive, systemic and generative method that makes more demands but offers a greater chance of success WHEN I WAS YOUNG, I thought that the world's toughest problems would be solved by the world's smartest people, and I wanted to be one of them. Adam Kahane. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [137]-139) And Index.