Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems

by Barry Johnson

Book Overview

Some complex problems simply do not have "solutions." The key to being an effective leader is being able to recognize and manage such problems. Polarity Management presents a unique model and set of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874251761
• ISBN13: 9780874251760
• Release Date: June 2014
• Publisher: HRD Press
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An easy read for my mba class?

I purchased this book to supplement my course materials for my mba class. It was the perfect compliment to my research and explained the material nicely, foregoing the often complicated and alienating academic language for common wording and explanations. Truly easy to read and informative!

Helpful, practical insights into organizational dynamics.

This book really shows how we become stuck in dilemmas and static thinking, and how we can instead move at one with change. I am finding it tremendously helpful in analyzing entrenched organizational dysfunction that persists in spite of the efforts of well-meaning managers.

Most enlightening

Polarity Management is one of my favorite "business" books of all time. Johnson's theory, which explains the dynamics of polarized issues, is so simple yet so comprehensive. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand why major issues can be so divisive and how we can move forward when we seem to be at a standstill.

A key concept for the new millenium, simple yet profound.

In this book Johnson provides us with a framework to understand the nature of dilemmas. Easy to read, the simplicity of Polarity Management belies its explanatory power in handling paradox and in so doing transforms our view of dealing with difficulties. This book is an important and satisfying read that does provide the reader with a genuinely new paradigm in thinking rare in these days of overhyped publications.

Best-kept management secret for managing complex issues

Johnson presents a clear path to understanding and managing the dilemmas of our modern and post-modern society. He provides a method of mapping a polarity (or paradox or dilemma) that bridges into systems thinking. Once you get what he is saying, you will never see the world the same. Do not be fooled by the simplicity of this - Johnson shares great truths needed today. I cannot imagine how this book has remained the best-kept secret in management and systems thinking.