It’s a fact of life that we don’t actually like everyone we have to work with, if we are honest. Frequently we will be in situations where we have to negotiate with or collaborate with people that we don’t agree with or even trust. Recognising this, Adam Kahane has put together a book that addresses this reality.
Collaborating with the Enemy (Berrett-Kohler 2017) is based on Kahanes extensive experience in helping people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues, including international peace treaties, national drug policies, global environmental agreements and family disputes.
In this book Kahane throws out many traditional negotiation strategies and turns them on their head to propose alternatives that can open up a host of other options that may previously have been considered impossible. There are three main approaches explored, being to embrace conflict and connection, experiment a way forward, and to step into the game. My favourite quote is that if you’re not part of the problem, then you can’t be part of the solution.
This is an excellent book to challenge traditional thinking about problem solving, and to think about the issues rather than the people. Anyone involved in working with people would benefit from reading this, and I would encourage you to do so.