Ten Easy Steps for Reaching Agreements Together


Just what are the ten steps that get such amazing results? The second part of this book explains them thoroughly, but in brief they are as follows:

  1. Enlist everyone.

  2. Discover your shared hopes.

  3. Uncover the real issues.

  4. Identify all options.

  5. Gather the right information.

  6. Get everything on the table.

  7. Write down choices that support your shared hopes.

  8. Map the solutions.

  9. Look ahead.

  10. Stay charged up.

Each step provides insight into an issue as well as problem-solving techniques. But it's how the steps work together that brings out the best in participants and produces extraordinary, sustainable results. Together, the steps have benefited a wide range of organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to growing businesses to government agencies to community nonprofits. As you read, you'll learn how each step connects with and advances the next, and in Strategy #1 in Part 3 you'll discover how all the steps can come together for quick results on specific issues.

To show you how the process works, I've included wide-ranging examples and illustrations based upon my experiences with dozens of organizations and thousands of people during more than a decade of work with teams and groups facing some of the toughest issues of their lives. (I've changed the names and organizational details so that you can learn from them without putting the particular people involved on the spot or breaching confidential relationships.) These stories give you a bird's-eye view of how people applied the process and illustrations for you to visualize ways to use it. I hope they inspire you to apply the steps and strategies in your own work and activities.

This book focuses mainly on business issues, but the process works equally well with issues you face in every part of your life. Indeed, that's one of the process's distinctive benefits. You can practice it in any aspect of your work, community, or home life and benefit from the experience in the others. No matter what your tough issue is, the process will help you learn how to make your own great decisions.

Even if you don't face a tough issue now, following these steps can enhance your life. For example, you can positively change the tenor of any discussion by asking the powerful questions in Step #2: "What are your hopes about this [topic]?" and "Why are they important to you?" Step #6 shows you how to discuss even the most controversial issue without a single minute of divisive debate. Similarly, each of the other steps contains nuggets you can put into practice immediately to improve your daily interactions.

Don't let obstacles keep you and your group from making progress. Some people despair that they lack time or they aren't in charge. Part 3 identifies six common obstacles and gives you strategies to handle them quickly and painlessly. For example, the 30-Minute Miracle technique, detailed in Strategy #1, quick-starts the agreement process when time is short, letting you work not only smarter but faster. Persuasive techniques in Strategy #2 enable even the powerless to guide fractious groups to effective solutions. You can make a difference.




How Great Decisions Get Made. 10 Easy Steps for Reaching Agreement on Even the Toughest Issues
How Great Decisions Get Made: 10 Easy Steps for Reaching Agreement on Even the Toughest Issues
ISBN: 0814407935
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 112
Authors: Don Maruska

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