Customer Reviews

Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

The invisible fog is trying to solve a problem that can't be solved. It is a fog because the solutions don't work, and it is invisible because focusing on solutions prevents seeing that there isn't a problem to be solved. There is no magic bullet here, and Johnson acknowledges that. What is here are tools for coping with (managing) dualities or polarities inherent in many troublesome situations. Johnson provides the clarity to get above the fog and find a way to address (manage) the situation.

The concepts and underlying explanation are a solid 5-star.
Four stars because I found just a bit too much padding/repetition for a 5 star book.

Even with all the management books and textbooks I've read over the past 25 years, I've never read about polarity management before. I really like the approach and it makes a lot of practical sense. Some problems can't be solved because they involve polarities that need to be managed. Quick read. I can see how this approach can be applied to my workplace and to my personal life.

I was recommended this book as a fresh approach to looking at problems that are often associated with conflict and deemed insolvable. I found it an easy-to-read and practical guide of one approach the type of problem that does not seem to respond to the conventional linear-thinking approach of define-the-problem-argue-the-options-fabricate-the-business-case-and-implement-an-untested-solution. Since reading it I have already started to use the language and metaphors which is a sign to me that the approach works in practice ([...])

Polarity Management lays out the fundamental choices management must make to assure organizations stay in the "virtuous cycle" instead of over-emphasizing one choice at the expense of essential wisdom that would create balance. Johnson's approach simplifies complex issues to clarify the poles represented in everyday management decisions.

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!

I have not read his book yet. Our company has utilized his seminars and what a difference! We are using the Polarity map in meetings, conferences, and now in my personal life. This is a great tool for any organization or individual that is either in a struggle or is successful - you walk away with more than a tool but a way of looking at your professional and personal life.