RESOLUTIONARY THINKING A Message of Thought Leadership STEWART LEVINE, Esq., RESOLUTIONARY SUBSCRIBE TO "RESOLUTIONARY THINKING" at Don't believe all that you think! My goal is to develop a critical mass of Resolutionary Thinkers with a Resolutionary Attitude, and the communication tools to end fights, disagreements and conflict in an efficient, effective, way. I have a high level of frustration with how people in general, and the legal system in particular, is ill equipped to handle conflict early on, before the triggering event is lost, and winning becomes more important than what you're fighting for. Before PC's my vision was that it would be great to have a bevy of kiosks staffed by knowing professionals who would both teach about and resolve ordinary conflicts at an early stage. Technology has come a long way, and now everyone has a "Kiosk" on their desk-top 24-7. That is why I am hopeful, and driven. But I need your help! Thanks to my partners at World Wide Digital Media and Chagnon & Reina I now have "Resolutionary Thinking" in a very robust digital format. We've already begun the process of creating asynchronous educational modules. Context specific applications will be easily crafted for many different life transactions and transitions. I'm convinced that with vigilant mindfulness and a commitment to listening and dialogue we can create a virus of new thinking that can change the thought patterns that keep us trapped in our current set of "mind-made" problems. My aim is to use organizations - business, government, education, ngo's - as distribution channels for new thoughts forms - and new ways of engaging with each other. If you have an interest in being part of this movement please be in touch. If we can keep our eye on the prize, and begin living with some new thought patterns, the world will change around us. So, let us begin. With RESOLVE, Stewart ******************************************************************* I hope the following passage from Meg Wheatley's new book inspires you to make an agreement with yourself about how rapidly you will move in the world. "Finding Our Way" "In this speed culture, we now equate productivity with speed. If it can be done faster, we assume it's more productive. A recent trend in some companies is to hold meetings standing up. These meetings (or perhaps they should be called "football huddles"), are touted as more productive, but the only measure used is that they take less time. If people are kept standing, the meeting ends sooner. No one measures the productivity of these meetings by asking whether people have developed wiser solutions, better ideas, or more trusting relationships. "If we can pause for a moment and see what we are losing in this speed-up, I can't imagine that we would continue with this bargain. We're giving up the very things that make us human. Our road to hell is being paved with hasty intentions. I hope we can notice what we're losing in our day-to-day lives, in our community, in our world. I hope we'll be brave enough to slow things down, if only to get a sense of where we are and where we are headed. "But I don't believe anybody is going to give ********************************************************************* One of the causes of conflict in our families are incomplete, inadequate or non-existent agreements that set out the parameters of the relationship. Most of us would not think for a moment of creating a relationship agreement with a parent or a sibling. We would rather have our expectations trampled on by someone with a different set of expectations. Try using the following ten elements as a framework for a dialogue that defines the relationship and creates a meeting of mind and heart. It's much better than assuming the best and getting the worst! 1. INTENT & VISION ********************************************************************* I have a simple and elegant way of building and transforming organizational culture. Culture is an amorphous word that needs some explanation and ballast. Organizational culture reflects the quality and character of organizational relationships. And what determines the quality and character of relationships? Relationships reflect the nature of the web of agreements that effectively ARE an organization. That's where I come in! Most people never learned how to establish effective collaborative relationships. We collaborate by having agreements with others. I call these "agreements for results." I can provide the conversational templates that create effective relationships AND the conversational templates that sustains the relationships. I can do it live, and I can provide a web based program that will reinforce and provide "stickiness" for the learning. I'm looking for a few allies to help me bring this work into the kind of organizational clients you work with. I believe that using large organizations as the distribution channel for teaching people how to collaborate effectively has the potential to have a profound impact on the world we leave behind. If you want a more detailed explanation please email me and I will send an article soon to be published in the "Handbook of Business Strategy." Send your request to ResolutionWorks@msn.com. ********* THIS TREND IS NOT SURPRISING TO THIS STUDENT OF CONFLICT! From the "Herman Trend Alert" Clients and other subscribers have noticed that a significant number of people avoid confrontation in the workplace. They are reluctant to ask for increases in compensation, more training, or different job assignments. These employees would rather change employers than risk the resistance or negative consequences from bosses that may not support their requests. People who see things that are wrong are hesitant to point them out. They fear the repercussions of whistle-blowing, so they simply say---and do---nothing. When they become too uncomfortable with ethics violations, quality deficiencies, or sick cultures, they leave their organizations rather than raise issues or take corrective action. While we hear inspiring stories of people who have won awards and recognition for taking the risks and raising the alarm about financial irregularities or compliance violations in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, many employees who discover problems look the other way or leave the offending organization. The consequences for those who suffer as a result of their silence can be enormous. When suppliers fail to meet customer expectations, the customer representatives let the problems slide or ignore them. They do not stand up for the company, protecting the company's interest, to insist that suppliers meet the required standards. Many consumers exhibit the same behavior, not informing retailers when they're happy and when they're dissatisfied. The danger of this avoidance trend is the power gained by people and organizations that engage in harmful practices. On a very local basis, supervisors---and even front-line employees---who are incompetent are encouraged to continue their inappropriate behaviors. Valued employees and customers leave, damaging the company, school, or government agency. They develop negative attitudes, their expectations are lowered, and this trend pushes our society to a lower level of achievement and progress. Take the trend to an international level and terrorists gain power and control because people fear the risks of resistance. This example may stretch the issue of avoidance of confrontation and almost sound like we encourage aggressive defense. We take no position on this matter, but use the global perspective to relate to terrorist behavior in the corporate setting. ********************************************************************* A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management. He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?" The students' answers ranged from 20g to 500gm. "It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance. It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." "If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier." "What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again." We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on. So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can. Pick it up again later when you have rested...Rest and relax...Life is short, enjoy it!! Blessings, Judi Neal, Ph.D., Executive Director, Association for Spirit at Work, www.spiritatwork.org ********************************************************************* CLEAR Clear crystal silence, no chatter or cracks This peace come over, that quiets the fear What puts you through it, what sends you there Fear is what does it, takes up our space The hope, that our deepest wisdom prevails The Edge of Center All tempest has, - Fourteenth-Century From across the centuries, this nameless voice tells us that at the heart of all struggle there is a peaceful enduring center, if only we can reach it. All the wisdom traditions affirm this. Still, a deeper paradox of life is carried here. For the gull flies through the peaceful center, it does not live there. The work, it seems, for us is to draw sustenance from that central, eternal space without denying the experience of the storm. Repeatedly, we are thrown into the storm and into the center. When in the storm, we are exacerbated by our humanness. When in the center, we are relieved by our spiritual sense in the oneness of things. So to find our center and to feel our battered wings is to feel the God within. Our constant struggle is in living both sides of this paradox. For we cannot get to the center without going through the storm that surrounds it. Yet the storm of human experience can only be endured by knowing what the gull knows. The storm can only be survived - Mark Nepo, ******************************************************************* I am excited to begin expanding the community of "Resolutionary Thinking!" Critical mass is present in the form of development partners and a core group of trained practitioners. Some of the activities I have planned include: We are having a telephone meeting on Tuesday June 14 at 4 Pacific / 7 Eastern Time. The call in number is 712-580-0100, Access Code 195405#. Please email me and let me know you will be joining us. ResolutionWorks@msn.com I look forward to seeing you then! SPECIAL OFFER
Colin Rule, Director of Online Dispute Resolutionion, For people who receive this newsletter I have a special offer. If you have an interest in less conflict and more harmony and productivity in your life keep reading. I will personally guide you through an eight week learning program using ResolutionWorksOnline and a specially designed eBook as the basic texts. You will have access to RWO. I will guide you through the content and you will be able to engage with others in your learning group. You will learn the Resolutionary models: and how to create "Agreements for Results" no matter how bad the situation seems. You will save the huge cost of conflict. The program includes: > Acess to RWO for 8 weeks The cost $295. Begin: June 22, 2005. SPACE IS LIMITED so please sign up NOW. June 2-4 Facilitator, Mayors Accords, World Environmental Day, ************************************************************* With less focus on the purely psychological aspects of reaching agreement than 'Getting to Yes' Levine's becomes a much more pragmatic approach." Perdido, Leadership with a Conscience, Review, "The Book of Agreement"
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