Getting to Resolution, Second Edition
Turning Conflict Into Collaboration
By: Stewart Levine
Published: November 2009
Format: Paperback, 288 pages
ISBN: 9781576757710
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
"Resolution is much better than settling! Resolution provides relief and completeness", writes the Founder of Resolution Works Stewart Levine, in his definitive second edition to his classic visinary book Getting to Resolution, Second Edition: Turning Conflict Into Collaboration. The author presents a powerful alternative system, for achieving a collaborative win-win solution for resolving conflict, that replaces the costly and unproductive adversarial model.
Stewart Levine understands the true costs of an adversarial paradigm for conflict resolution. He describes how not seeking resolution, and resorting to compromise or giving in to the other party, leads to resentment. The unsatisfactory solution doesn't result in closure or healing for either party, but induce suffering instead. In place of the win-lose concept, the author offers a powerful collaborative system, where all parties work together to ensure that everyone is satisfied and benefits from the solution. The costs of failure to resolve an issue can be monetary, loss of time, lost productivity, and damaged personal relationships. As Stewart Levine points out, these very real costs represent a loss and suffering for the parties involved, for the business, and for society as a whole.
Stewart Levine (photo left) recognizes that modern society, from the polarized world of partisan politics to the litigation that overwhelms the legal system, are based on letting others handle conflicts. The author also understands that this impersonal approach to solving issues fails as the professionals don't have to live with the outcomes of their settlements. They also do little to rebuild personal relationships. In their place, Stewart Levine proposes taking personal responsibility for searching for cooperative and mutually beneficial resolutions. He calls this creative and collaborative paradigm as thinking in a "resolutionary" way. When the parties take this forward thinking approach, common ground is discovered, and very often an unexpected and satisfactory resolution is achieved. By removing the adversarial mindset, and replacing it with a spirit of trust and resolution, then the relationship can be rebuilt and strengthened.
For me, the power of the book is how Stewart Levine combines the theory of why resolution is important, with a powerful and practical system that can be used in any situation. The hands on approach to resolution, presented in the book, includes ten principles of resolutionary thinking, resulting in a sea change in a person's way of thinking and approaching conflict. Once those ten concepts are internalized, the person no longer sees the issues in a adversarial, win-lose way. In their place is a collaborative and creative system, based on personal responsibility and change in cultural outlook. As a companion to the ten theoretical principles, the author outlines seven workable steps as the crafting of a resolutionary agreement. By understanding the steps, and their application, the approach can be applied to any conflict situation, regardless of its complexity.
I highly recommend the visionary guide Getting to Resolution, Second Edition: Turning Conflict Into Collaboration by Stewart Levine, to anyone in business, government, the professions, or in personal mediation, who is seeking a more productive and conversational method of resolving conflict. Anyone who desires a move beyond the traditional and often damaging adversarial technique of problem solving will be rewarded many times over by this important book. The new way of thinking about conflict resolution is well suited to the times, and is on the leading edge of modern paradigm shifts in finding satisfactory outcomes.
Read the indispensable conflict resolution book Getting to Resolution, Second Edition: Turning Conflict Into Collaboration by Stewart Levine, and change your entire way of thinking about conflict. In place of the outdated, and costly current system, discover how a resolutionary approach will lead to happier results, more functional business cultures, and stronger personal relationships.
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