Fight Different: The Power of Focal Thinking in Systemic Conflicts

We seem to be living in an extraordinary time of systemic conflict, but the fact is we always have been. Humans are a fractious species. This is part of what enables us to create, innovate, and turn what exists now into something even better suited to our needs, but it can also lead to enormous suffering. Fight Different is about leading strategically in the face of large, chaotic, multiparty conflicts outside your organization. The really big ones. The ones with dozens and dozens, perhaps hundreds, of conflicting people, groups, organizations, stakeholders, and the public. It’s about knowing what to do next, and why to do it, in the middle of very chaotic situations. The larger purpose behind Fight Different is to take away complexity’s power to make conflict that destroys and give us a shot at conflict that creates. In order to access these simple tools, we are going to have to spend a bit of effort learning a new approach to thinking about complexity. In many ways, human conflicts behave like other complex systems one finds in nature. Fight Different describes how to make use of the science behind complex natural systems to use nature’s way of handling complex conflict. Most leaders are still trained to think linearly, but the world is chaotic. It’s been said that nature doesn’t build in straight lines, but we tend to think in straight lines. When our lines bump up against nature’s curves, we inevitability get a reminder of who’s in charge. We often end up ill-equipped for the realities of nature’s complexity because we apply linear thinking to a world that won’t straighten out for us. That’s why we miss cues and nuances that would otherwise let us move forward and succeed. The skills we’re taught around negotiations won’t help us much. Negotiations are different from conflicts, especially the kind of complex conflicts we’re talking about here. In fact, when we treat complex conflicts like a negotiation, we end up making them worse. Complex conflicts are a different animal altogether, and they need to be handled differently. My approach, which I call “Focal Thinking,” is going to get you ready to handle a whole new level of complexity. Focal Thinking is about nuances and nudges and resiliently adapting to chaotic situations. It enables us to pay attention to just the right things at just the right time and avoid the distracting noise. It makes complicated situations work for us, not against us. It turns chaos into an ally and complexity into a welcome friend. It turns enemies into grudgingly respectful antagonists. It is fatal to stereotypes, partisanship, and muddled thinking. The goal here is to encourage and equip like-minded leaders who want to help society engage in big conflicts strategically, respectfully, and effectively. I’m going to show you how to harness the power of complexity science to make sense of complex conflicts, build practical strategies to turn them into creative forces, and stay resilient in the face of constant, inexorable change. I want you to win. I genuinely do. Your ability to grapple with the full range of complexity in a conflict, not just parts of it, will lead you to better solutions for everyone involved. This is going to lead humanity to better outcomes, one conflict at a time. You’ll need to be aware up front, however, that this is not for everyone. Thinking this way may not make you popular all the time, because people tend to be comfortable with how they choose to make sense of the world. It might not make you popular, but it will definitely help you lead in challenging times.