The Magic of Conflict

The book review for this week is The Magic of Conflict by Thomas F Crum.

Crum defines his method of conflict management through the lens of an Aikido martial artist which, all things considered, is a very interesting perspective. However, I was not a big fan of the book as it focused too much on expanding and contracting “ki” or “sources of positive and negative energy”.

My takeaway from this book is that I need to be more aware of the reasons behind a conflict. I need to be willing to expend more energy to understand what is driving the conflict rather than jumping into the fray with an unmoveable viewpoint. This willingness to search for understanding will allow me to clearly see all viewpoints in the conflict and work towards a solution acceptable by all sides.

Note that I have previously reviewed:

1. Rory Vaden’s Procrastinate on Purpose.
2. Bill Browder’s Red Notice
3. Atul Gawande’s The Checklist Manifesto
4. Brad Lomenick H3 Leadership
5. Eula Bliss’ On Immunity: An Inoculation
6. Adam Grant’s Give and Take 
7. Paul Leinward’s and Cesare R. Mainardi’s Strategy That Works
8. John Nemo’s LinkedIn Riches
9. Dr. Henry Cloud’s The Power of the Other
10. T. Harv Eker’s Secrets of the Millionaire Mind
11. Steve Case’s The Third Wave