Compromise means meeting somewhere between two positions or solutions. The best possible solution is rarely found there. This is why more and more people are searching for a better problem-solving strategy.

Why is compromise an ineffective negotiation strategy in the twenty-first century? Today's world is far more interconnected than it has ever been. Today's challenges are far more complex than they have ever been. The best obtainable outcome compromise can create is an agreement in which all parties walk away from the negotiating table feeling equally ripped off. This is why compromise is an inadequate strategy for creating sustainable solutions.

Most people know only one other problem-solving strategy than compromise: coercion. If there is a method of solving problems that is even worse than compromise, it's coercion.

If neither compromise nor coercion can create the solutions we need then what can? is not the remedy for misusing compromise, then what is? The third form of problem-solving in addition to coercion and compromise is synergy. Synergy means combining the wisdom of multiple perspectives to discover solutions that are better than any single perspective can create by itself. For this reason, synergy goes far beyond the unsatisfying ritual of meeting in the middle that compromise creates.

Synergy begins with humility. This humility recognizes that the big picture cannot be seen accurately be any one person or group. Synergy requires two more ingredients in addition to humility:

1. Discovering Core Intentions: These are the deeper purposes and values beneath positions being taken or solutions being proposed. In other words, a core intention is what someone really wants - the outcome she or he is truly seeking.

2. Integrating Core Intentions: Combining everyone's core intentions reveals a more picture than any one group can see by themselves. This is the only picture from which sustainable solutions can grow. This is how synergy serves the common good far better than coercion or compromise.

We stand at a crossroads as a society. Will we start using the only problem-solving strategy capable of creating sustainable solutions or will we continue using the two other inadequate problem-solving strategies simply because we're more familiar with them? The time has come to stop using compromise and coercion as our primary problem-solving strategies. Building a sustainable future requires that synergy replace compromise and coercion as our new first-choice problem-solving strategy.

No matter how much more familiar you might be with coercion and compromise, synergy is very learnable as a solution-creation method and negotiation strategy. Start developing your synergy skills today.

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Article Submitted By: Dr. David Gruder, PhD, DCEP
This Article Has Been Read 391 Times

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