THE COLLABORATIVE PATH

A concise manual offers advice on improving thinking and communicating.

In this guide, former trial lawyer Aylward presents a sharp, concise analysis of negotiation and conflict resolution, with six methods for improving both. The labels for these steps are deceptively simple-sounding, things like “set parameters,” “describe issues,” and “generate options.” The author sets them in a dialogue with Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury, which he refers to as “the foundational text for the whole field of Conflict Resolution.” Drawing on his extensive legal experience, Aylward analyzes the “adjudicative model” for conflict resolution that he contends has dominated the field for most of human history. In this model, participants identify only a small number of alternatives in a situation, debate the pros and cons of each, and then make a choice between them. He contends that this model is no longer as useful in the modern, diverse, and inclusive world, and in these pages, he makes the case for something he calls “the collaborative model” of communication. In this approach, no solutions are suggested, no “dichotomy for choice” is identified, and no blame is imputed to any participant for being responsible for the problem in the first place. The long-standing assumption that there are obvious positive sides to conflict is squarely in the crosshairs here, with the author championing an alternative model of principled negotiation in which resolution happens without antagonism. “Conflict,” he writes, “is not a growth industry.” Throughout the book, Aylward uses a crisp, very readable prose and combines it effectively with well-placed graphics to illustrate his points. In light of how divisive and divided contemporary society tends to be, many readers will feel that those points—particularly the author’s advocacy of the collaborative model—take on a greater importance. Aylward’s exhortation to halt and reverse the “downward spiral” of unresolved tension will strike many readers as more urgent than ever.

A punchy and readable “journey from ignorance to integration” focusing on conflict resolution.