Book Review
Rama Gaind
By Rama Gaind
PS News Books

The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life’s Most Difficult Problems
   By Stephen R. Covey with Breck England (Simon & Schuster, $29.99, 456 pages)

The 3rd Alternative introduces a breakthrough method for conflict resolution and creative problem solving.
   Life is full of setbacks and to successfully solve the most difficult obstacles, Dr Covey says, “we must radically change our thinking”.
   With most negotiations and problems the first alternative is my way; the second, your way; but the question is whose way is superior.
The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life’s Most Difficult Problems by Stephen R. Covey
The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life’s Most
Difficult Problems by Stephen R. Covey.
   There are many methods of “conflict resolution,” but most involve compromise. The 3rd Alternative is about more than just a truce, as it strives to create a new, improved reality that is a departure from the usual approaches to negotiation, conflict resolution and innovation.
   The significantly better answer is synergy—when the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
 While synergy may not be an entirely new concept, The 3rd Alternative thinkers profiled in this book bring ingenious solutions and therapeutic harmony. Dr Covey describes one amazing collaboration: between politicians, city planners, property owners and activists to rejuvenate New York’s Time Square.
   Using examples and key stories from his work as an organisational consultant, Dr Covey demonstrates that third alternative thinking is the supreme opportunity of our times.  
 Instead of escalating conflict, you will learn how to create new and better results together with building strong relationships with diverse individuals based on an attitude of winning together.
   The technique is a departure from traditional means and can “apply equally well to a playground, a battlefield, a boardroom, a legislative chamber, or a family kitchen”.     
 The enthusiasm and urgency with which Dr Covey introduces and explains synergy gives it credible substance.
   Crafting a successful, non-traditional plan requires imagination and a clear sense of strategies. While it builds morale, this is also a deeply practical book for problem-solvers.

To find out more about Rama Gaind click here.
Letter to Editor
print
pdf
Email a friend
Back