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 Dialogue, And the Art of Thinking Together
An excellent book about deepening the level of understanding between and among people. It examines the difference between thinking alone vs. thinking together. One premise is that for the most part people tend to think alone, thus coming to conclusions, taking positions, making assumptions, all of which tends to interfere with effective communication because we then only hear a portion of what the "other" has to communicate to us. william Issacs identifies four principles of thinking together along with four practices of commumication that lead to a more complete discovery and sharing of points of view, thus leading to a broader, deeper understanding of various aspects of ourselves, others and whatever subject is being discussed. An essential belief is that everyone has their own perspective and every perspective has value. Through a complete, honest and respectful mutual sharing of our views we are better able to see and understand the "whole" thus opening the way to much more effective choices and resolutions to issues.
Conversations for Peace and Prosperity
This is a remarkable book that explains why I had failed over the years to reach satisfactory agreements with labour unions. For over a decade, I worked as an HR Manager and dealt with Labour Unions intensively to reach collective bargaining agreements that affected thousands of people. I wished I had known then the four principles and practices laid out in the book. It would have helped me carry out more dialogues and avoided me the pain of endless discussions, sterile debates and heated arguments in which I found myself throughout the years. A book that is written by a man full of experience in this field of knowledge. A book written in a language that is easy to understand and full of real life examples. This is a book that has inspired me to look more often inside myself to better assess the quality of my inner conversations before engaging myself with outer conversations.
A 21st Century Management Tool
To many hard core business types, the idea of sitting around talking with each other for the purpose of identifying common ground would probably sound a little too soft for their liking. If not handled properly, it most likely would.
However, when handled in the way described in this book by William Isaacs, the founder of the Dialogue Project at MIT, it works. As Peter Senge (author of The Fifth Discipline) says in the foreword to Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together, "in almost every (business) setting where practices of dialogue have become embedded and part of everyday routines, the ensuing changes have become irreversible . . . . Once people rediscover the art of talking together, they do not go back."
Based on a simple set of core skills or practices--listening, respecting, suspending (judgment), and voicing (speaking authentically)--true dialogue often has a profound impact on the quality of the interaction amongst those who are willing to engage in it.
This book is full of practical examples of what to do, how to do it, and what happens in high stakes business settings, like labor-management negotiations, and other less stressful situations when you do.
I have used the principles in this book successfully for many years with clients and students to create breakthroughs in business and education.
I highly recommend it.
Robert E. Levasseur, Ph.D., author of "Breakthrough Business Meetings: Shared Leadership in Action"
 Dialogue: the art of thinking together
This book is an excellent intorduction to the area of dialogue. It has very good application to the business area for consultants and managers interested in increasing effectiveness of communication.
Dialogue - Communications alternative
Isaacs offers alternatives to edicts, confrontations, arguments, debates. He uses anecdotes and metaphors to make his points memorable, often vivid or amusing. He makes how-to-do-it understandable. His most important points are simply stated:
* Listening
* Respecting
* Suspending Opinion
* Voicing
I would add empathy to this list. When empathy is present, dialogue arises naturally. This omission is my only reason for only four stars.
An extract: "The heart of dialogue is a simple but profound capacity to listen. Listening requires we not only hear the words, but also embrace, accept, and gradually let go of our own inner clamoring. As we explore it, we discover that listening is an expansive activity. It gives us a way to perceive more directly the ways we participate in the world around us... This means listening not only to others but also to ourselves and our reactions."
Isaacs points out that while we may work hard in preparing to speak, we do not work equally hard in preparing to listen. The listening element of dialogue cannot be overemphasized.
William Isaacs is to be commended for giving us a fundation upon which to reach through the common barriers of temperament mismatch. Dialogue is the art of relaxing our hang-ups (and biases) to the point where we hear eagerly and naturally think of extensions to what others are saying. In searching for truth, we can then reply thoughtfully instead of defensively, and this encourages responses in kind. Dialogue also works between and among nations. Dialogue is needed more than ever in our times where humanity has achieved the capacity to make itself just another extinct species. William Isaacs is my guru for dialogue.
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