From Conflict to Convergence: Coming Together to Solve Tough Problems

CHAPTER 2How to Reach Convergence

What would happen if more of us expanded our problem-solving skillset, gaining stronger capability in listening, learning, and inviting other voices to inform and challenge our worldview? What if we cultivated the ability to identify our own and each other's core needs and the capacity to then develop solutions that integrate the essential needs of all sides so that our solutions are more effective and more widely supportable over the long term? Imagine how our world would improve if we could create spaces where people, including those who see themselves as adversaries, can openly and safely talk, develop trust, and generate more agreeable, more enduring, and wiser solutions.

As idealistic as this might sound, these kinds of shifts are possible. Both of us, Rob and Mariah, have seen that respectful dialogue around shared concerns can achieve important goals in a range of conflicts—from the process to choose what art should be displayed in a state capitol building to the discovery of shared beliefs and goals between a prison reform advocate and an executive at a private prison company, as well as scores of others. In some instances, we've convened people who thought they couldn't even talk with each other, no less find ways to work together, and saw surprising results when they came to know and trust each other and collaborate. When challenging conversations are structured in better ways, people can solve problems more agreeably, wisely, and ...