Stephen Covey Releases New Book:The 3rd Alternative:Solving Life's Most Difficult Problems
October 20, 2011 Author of Multimillion Copy Bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Offers Breakthrough Approach to Conflict Resolution
SALT LAKE CITY, Oct 20, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Stephen Covey's seminal work The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peoplehas sold more than 20 million copies and helped people all over the world transform their lives.
In his new book, The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life's Most Difficult Problems, Stephen Covey, cofounder of Franklin Covey Co. (NYSE: FC), with Breck England, chief writer, Franklin Covey, turns his formidable insight to creative problem solving, presenting a powerful new way to resolve professional and personal conflicts and create innovative solutions to great challenges in society. (Free Press/October 4th, 2011/$28.00 hardcover). (Stephen R. Covey video:www.The3rdAlternative.com.)
In traditional conflict resolution, there is the 1st alternative--my way--and the 2nd alternative--your way. Stephen Covey has developed a breakthrough, easy-to-implement method for reaching a resolution that's far greater than what either party had hoped for. By seeking what he calls "the 3rd Alternative," both parties temporarily suspend their entrenched positions, engage in creative dialogue, and emerge in a far better place than either had initially envisioned.
"We arrive at the 3rd Alternative through a process called synergy," Stephen Covey says. "Synergy is what happens when one plus one equals ten or a hundred or even a thousand! It's the profound result when two or more respectful human beings determine to go beyond their preconceived ideas to meet a great challenge."
Synergy is not the same thing as compromise, in which everyone loses something. Compromise is about resolving a conflict; synergy is about transcending the conflict. "We go beyond it to something new, something that excites everyone with fresh promise and transforms the future," Stephen Covey says. "Synergy is better than my way or your way. It's our way."
Stephen Covey begins with an in-depth explanation of the concept of the 3rd Alternative and of the four-step process of synergy through which we arrive at 3rd Alternative solutions. In subsequent chapters, he shows how to apply the transformative power of the 3rd Alternative in every important domain of your life:
The 3rd Alternative at Work is about discovering 3rd Alterative solutions in the workplace so you can prosper in your work and your business as you become a synergistic partner with others.
The 3rd Alternative at Home is about having a positive, supportive, creative family in a world with conflicted families, where our most precious relationships are threatened.
The 3rd Alternative at School is about getting past bickering and pointing fingers over education and moving on to transform the lives of our children, to help them become 3rd Alternative leaders who will in turn transform the future for all of us
The 3rd Alternative and the Law is about changing our culture of litigation into a culture of understanding, empathy, and synergy, putting to better use the staggering energy and money we waste on fighting each other in court.
The 3rd Alternative in Society is about overcoming the disintegrating forces in our communities. It's about finding 3rd Alternatives for tough issues like crime, disease, environmental degradation, and poverty.
The 3rd Alternative in the World is about rising above the wearisome, worsening quarrels that threaten to tear our world apart and features some remarkable people who have taken on the incomparable role of peacemaker--the highest expression of synergy.
A 3rd Alternative Life, the final chapter, is about "living in crescendo"--believing that your most important contributions are ahead of you.
"I have taught the underlying principle of this book for more than fifty years to literally hundreds of thousands of people," writes Stephen Covey. "I've taught it to young schoolchildren, to rooms full of corporate CEOs, to graduating students, to heads of state in some thirty countries, and to everyone in between. I've approached them all in virtually the same way. I have written this book to apply equally well to a playground, a battlefield, a boardroom, a legislative chamber, or a family kitchen."
Beyond compromise, beyond mediation, The 3rd Alternative represents a transformational, creative new way of thinking.
Franklin Covey Co. will offer world-class training based on The 3rd Alternativeexclusively through Franklin Covey LiveClicks webinar workshops. Available as open-enrollment workshops or as exclusive training for teams and organizations, participants will be taught by a certified instructor who will assist them in learning how to live The 3rd Alternative.The webinars will be available January 1, 2012.Topics include:
Conflict- Resolution Skills
Decision-Making Skills
Mastering the Art of Innovation
Negotiation Skills
Problem-Solving Skills
For more information on The 3rd Alternative training, such as pricing and availability, visit http://www.the3rdalternative.com/training/.
About Dr. Stephen Covey
Dr. Stephen R. Covey, one of Time magazine's 25 most influential Americans, is an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and author. He has sold over 25 million books (in 38 languages), and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the 20th Century. He is the cofounder of Franklin Covey Co., the leading global professional services firm with 42 offices in 155 countries. Dr. Covey is also professor of management at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, where he holds the first Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair in Leadership. He and his wife live in Utah.
About Dr. Breck England
Dr. Breck England is chief writer for Franklin Covey Co. and has collaborated with Dr. Stephen Covey on several books. In more than two decades of consulting experience, he has helped some of the world's largest corporations improve their leadership and communication processes. He has directed such projects for the Fortune 50, and from Switzerland to Saudi Arabia. A Ph.D. in English, he taught organizational communication for seven years in the Marriott School at Brigham Young University. He and his wife live on a mountainside in northern Utah.
About Franklin Covey Co.
Franklin Covey Co. (NYSE: FC) is the global consulting and training leader in the areas of strategy execution, leadership, customer loyalty, sales performance, school transformation and individual effectiveness. Over Franklin Covey's history, Franklin Covey clients have included 90 percent of the Fortune 100, more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500, thousands of small- and mid-sized businesses, as well as numerous government entities and educational institutions. Franklin Covey has 42 offices providing professional services in 155 countries. For more information, visit www.franklincovey.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50036773&lang=en
SOURCE: Franklin Covey Co.
Franklin Covey Co. Debra Lund, 801-244-4474 [email protected] or Free Press Larry Hughes, 212-632-4992 [email protected]