Breaking Through Gridlock
Breaking Through Gridlock
The Power of Conversation in a Polarized World
Edition: 1
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 22 May, 2017
Available in all formats
EPUB
ISBN:
9781626568976
PDF
ISBN:
9781626568969
You don't have access to this content. Please try to log in with your institution. Sign In
Conversations about social change devolve quickly into conflict when participants don't agree. Experienced practitioners Jason Jay and Gabriel Grant offer advocates and aspiring change agents six easy steps for opening the lines of communication when conversations get stuck.
The tough problems in the world are made harder when we can't even talk about them. We try to address issues that matter, but conversations break down because they become emotionally charged and we lose sight of our common goals. Scarred from these breakdowns with coworkers, family, and friends, we find it easier and safer to stick with people who already agree with us.
Getting unstuck requires the courage to confront our own inner contradictions and then to re-engage with people in a newly authentic way. This book invites readers to join in a spirit of serious play, laughing at ourselves as we take on the important work of self-reflection and renewing our conversations. Breaking through Gridlock includes six steps and a series of proven exercises to help readers along the way. We encourage readers to invite a friend to join them on the journey.
The tough problems in the world are made harder when we can't even talk about them. We try to address issues that matter, but conversations break down because they become emotionally charged and we lose sight of our common goals. Scarred from these breakdowns with coworkers, family, and friends, we find it easier and safer to stick with people who already agree with us.
Getting unstuck requires the courage to confront our own inner contradictions and then to re-engage with people in a newly authentic way. This book invites readers to join in a spirit of serious play, laughing at ourselves as we take on the important work of self-reflection and renewing our conversations. Breaking through Gridlock includes six steps and a series of proven exercises to help readers along the way. We encourage readers to invite a friend to join them on the journey.
Description
Conversations about social change devolve quickly into conflict when participants don't agree. Experienced practitioners Jason Jay and Gabriel Grant offer advocates and aspiring change agents six easy steps for opening the lines of communication when conversations get stuck.
The tough problems in the world are made harder when we can't even talk about them. We try to address issues that matter, but conversations break down because they become emotionally charged and we lose sight of our common goals. Scarred from these breakdowns with coworkers, family, and friends, we find it easier and safer to stick with people who already agree with us.
Getting unstuck requires the courage to confront our own inner contradictions and then to re-engage with people in a newly authentic way. This book invites readers to join in a spirit of serious play, laughing at ourselves as we take on the important work of self-reflection and renewing our conversations. Breaking through Gridlock includes six steps and a series of proven exercises to help readers along the way. We encourage readers to invite a friend to join them on the journey.
The tough problems in the world are made harder when we can't even talk about them. We try to address issues that matter, but conversations break down because they become emotionally charged and we lose sight of our common goals. Scarred from these breakdowns with coworkers, family, and friends, we find it easier and safer to stick with people who already agree with us.
Getting unstuck requires the courage to confront our own inner contradictions and then to re-engage with people in a newly authentic way. This book invites readers to join in a spirit of serious play, laughing at ourselves as we take on the important work of self-reflection and renewing our conversations. Breaking through Gridlock includes six steps and a series of proven exercises to help readers along the way. We encourage readers to invite a friend to join them on the journey.
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Exercises
- Figures
- Tables
- Foreword
- Preface: How this book came to be
- Introduction: How to use this book
- 1. How We Get Stuck: Breakdowns in conversation
- 2. (In)Authenticity: The key to getting unstuck
- 3. Know What You Bring: The hidden baggage of conversations
- 4. Locate the Bait: What we gain when conversations lose
- 5. Dare to Share: Moving past the talking points
- 6. Start Talking: Bringing conversations back to life
- 7. Embrace the Tension: How our differences can make a difference
- 8. Widen the Circle: Building inclusive movements
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Acknowledgments
- Index
- About the Authors
Review quote
“A field manual for change agents on how to build bridges across differences and move from talk to action.”
-Adam Grant, Professor of Management, The Wharton School, and New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take
“This book is not for the fainthearted, but if you truly want to change the world, it gives us the tools and the inspiration to do so.”
-Gwen Ruta, Senior Vice President, Climate and Energy, Environmental Defense Fund
“Our country's future depends on our ability to reach beyond our echo chambers. Jay and Grant guide us through starting the conversations so crucial to our democracy.”
-Van Jones, cofounder and President, The Dream Corps; CNN contributor; and author
“We need the creativity that can be harnessed from competing perspectives to craft a thriving organization and a thriving society. This book gives people the tools to take that on.”
-John Mackey, CEO, Whole Foods Market
“Jason Jay and Gabriel Grant single out authenticity as the key to breaking through the conversational gridlock that afflicts so many of our public and private interactions. They highlight the traps we fall into, as well as promising pathways for working our way out of them. It won't be easy, but you can use the exercises they offer to practice sidestepping the polarizing moves we make without even being aware of what we are doing.”
-Lawrence Susskind, founder of the Consensus Building Institute; Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning, MIT; and Vice Chair, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School
“Whether you're hoping to shift your company, your community, or even yourself, Jay and Grant have produced an accessible and practical guide that will make you chuckle with recognition-then motivate you to get to work.”
-Christine Bader, author of The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist
"In this savvy and highly practical book, Gabriel Grant and Jason Jay offer a way forward for groups that get stuck in seemingly hopeless, zero-sum conflicts. It should be required reading not only for corporate offices but also for congregations who preach unity and peace, but don't always know how best to achieve them. And in a period of real polarization and deep division in our national culture, this is a book for our time."
- The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, XXVII Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church
"Conversations are the most important leverage point for leaders and change makers. Jason Jay and Gabriel Grant offer critical insights and tools that will help you craft better conversations and thus a better world."
- Otto Scharmer, Founder, Presencing Institute, and author of Theory U and Leading from The Emerging Future
-Adam Grant, Professor of Management, The Wharton School, and New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take
“This book is not for the fainthearted, but if you truly want to change the world, it gives us the tools and the inspiration to do so.”
-Gwen Ruta, Senior Vice President, Climate and Energy, Environmental Defense Fund
“Our country's future depends on our ability to reach beyond our echo chambers. Jay and Grant guide us through starting the conversations so crucial to our democracy.”
-Van Jones, cofounder and President, The Dream Corps; CNN contributor; and author
“We need the creativity that can be harnessed from competing perspectives to craft a thriving organization and a thriving society. This book gives people the tools to take that on.”
-John Mackey, CEO, Whole Foods Market
“Jason Jay and Gabriel Grant single out authenticity as the key to breaking through the conversational gridlock that afflicts so many of our public and private interactions. They highlight the traps we fall into, as well as promising pathways for working our way out of them. It won't be easy, but you can use the exercises they offer to practice sidestepping the polarizing moves we make without even being aware of what we are doing.”
-Lawrence Susskind, founder of the Consensus Building Institute; Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning, MIT; and Vice Chair, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School
“Whether you're hoping to shift your company, your community, or even yourself, Jay and Grant have produced an accessible and practical guide that will make you chuckle with recognition-then motivate you to get to work.”
-Christine Bader, author of The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist
"In this savvy and highly practical book, Gabriel Grant and Jason Jay offer a way forward for groups that get stuck in seemingly hopeless, zero-sum conflicts. It should be required reading not only for corporate offices but also for congregations who preach unity and peace, but don't always know how best to achieve them. And in a period of real polarization and deep division in our national culture, this is a book for our time."
- The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, XXVII Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church
"Conversations are the most important leverage point for leaders and change makers. Jason Jay and Gabriel Grant offer critical insights and tools that will help you craft better conversations and thus a better world."
- Otto Scharmer, Founder, Presencing Institute, and author of Theory U and Leading from The Emerging Future
Similar titles
