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How to Make Collaboration Work: Powerful Ways to Build Consensus, Solve Problems, and Make Decisions

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Time-tested principles for making collaboration more effective, efficient, and even fun.

"Straus is one of America's preeminent facilitators with stories to tell and lessons to share. With his help, you , too, can build a collaborative organization or community." —Lawrence Susskind, Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning, MIT and President of the Consensus Building Institute

Every day we work with others to solve problems and make decisions, but the experience is often stressful, frustrating, and inefficient. In How to Make Collaboration Work, David Straus, a pioneer in the field of group problem solving, introduces five principles of collaboration that have been proven successful time and again in nearly every conceivable setting.

Straus draws on his thirty years of personal and professional experience to show how these principles have been applied by organizations as diverse as Ford Motor Company, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston Public Schools, Kaiser Permanente, the city of Denver, and many others.

How to Make Collaboration Work shows how collaboration can become a joy rather than a chore-a kind of chemical reaction that releases far more energy than it consumes.

"Lawyers, consultants, accountants and managers need to learn how to manage conflict and build effective teams. Straus captures in this lively book all the best learning about how professionals can facilitate collaboration." —Robert H. Mnookin, Williston Professor of Law, Chairman, Program of Negotiation, Harvard Law School

"The magic of Straus's book lies in its capacity to translate complex ideas and profound insights into powerful principles about how people can work together effectively." —David Chrislip, author of The Collaborative Leadership Fieldbook

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

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David Straus

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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Profile Image for Steven.
91 reviews8 followers
January 7, 2019
This is my second read through of this book in 10 years. I find the diagrams around planning collaborative actions extremely helpful in visualizing the process. This is a very straightforward book that distills a very complex skill.
Profile Image for John.
16 reviews
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July 27, 2012
Very interesting book that is helpful in assisting large or complex organizations with their endless, pointeless meetings. Some great tips and techniques for making meetings productive.
Profile Image for Jeff Lampson.
77 reviews4 followers
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January 22, 2016
The foundational models for Essential Facilitation... Good stuff.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews