Compromise requires negotiating a midpoint between two positions or solutions. This midpoint is not where sustainable solutions are found. Our society seems to be beginning to wake up to this fact, which is why compromise is on its way out as our first-choice 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.
Coercion is the only other problem-solving strategy most people are familiar with. The problem with coercion is that it produces even less sustainable solutions than compromise.
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 starts with an act of humility: appreciating that no one person or group accurately sees the big picture by himself or herself. Building on that humility, synergy includes two additional ingredients:
1. Core Intention Discovery: Looking behind the positions people have taken and the solutions they have proposed to identify the fundamental values and purposes beneath them. This means becoming understanding the outcome people are seeking from the solutions they are suggesting.
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.
Our society is at a problem-solving turning point. Will we keep depending on compromise and coercion to generate solutions simply because we are accustomed to them, or will we instead choose to match the strategy we use with the needs we have by turning to synergy instead? Coercion and compromise are out of step with the needs we have. Synergy is the only one of the three problem-solving strategies we can use to negotiate truly sustainable solutions. The time has come to make synergy our first-choice strategy for solving problems and negotiating solutions.
Even though most of us are more familiar with coercion and compromise, synergy is a very learnable negotiation and solution-creation skill. Start mastering the art of synergy today.
About the Author:
Dr. David Gruder, PhD, author of the 5-award-winning book "The New IQ", has taught synergy skills to everyone from couples to World Trade Organization ambassadors. His free Boundaries Intelligence e-course gets you started.
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