Get on the same page as Steve Tracey, Professor of Practice and Executive Director of the Center for Supply Chain Research. On the Same Page, our newest social media series, offers book recommendations from Penn State supply chain faculty to those seeking to learn more about supply chain, current events, business strategies, and more. Tracey sat down with us to share why his selection is a must-read.
What is your book recommendation?
“Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems” by Wendy K. Smith, Marianne Lewis, Amy C. Edmondson (Foreword)
What is your favorite quote from the book? Why?
“Throughout the book, we use language that reinforces this notion of coping, rather than controlling. We don’t talk about resolving paradoxes but instead describe navigating, engaging with, or leveraging them. Rather than talk about minimizing or resisting tensions, we speak of accepting and embracing them.”
Many people think, wrongly, that in business and in life there needs to be a winner and, therefore a loser. This shows up everywhere, in negotiations, in politics, etc. But, if we can think more carefully about adaptation and understanding we can co-exist in a world of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and, ambiguity). Many of us believe that truth is ubiquitous—that if something is true, its opposite must be false.“Yes, and” reminds us that there are multiple truths and that we, therefore, do not have to simply reject someone when they challenge our assumptions. Importantly, honoring someone else’s reality does not mean that we must agree with it. It means that we recognize and respect their reality.
What is the biggest takeaway you had after reading the book?
Messy problems are difficult because they present us with dilemmas—choices between alternatives. To navigate these kinds of challenges, leaders need to be ambidextrous. Tackling messy problems means navigating three attributes:
- Tensions include all types of situations where alternative expectations and demands are in opposition to one another.
- Dilemmas present opposing alternatives, each option offering a logical solution on its own. But those alternative present conflicts that must be resolved to find an optimal solution.
- Paradoxes are interdependent, persistent contradictions that lurk within our presenting dilemmas. In other words, find a solution involves solving paradoxical puzzles. This may require more critical thinking that anticipated.
How can students benefit from reading this book?
I’d say this is more a book on leadership than anything technical but, if you want to be a true leader you have to be able to solve tough challenges and this gives some tools for that kind of skillset.