getAbstract Summary: Get the key points from this book in less than 10 minutes.

Most people believe you cannot "solve complex problems" unless you simplify them. But if you simplify a problem, you lose sight of the nuances that made it complex and difficult in the first place. This thought-provoking exploration of coping with puzzles and paradoxes answers complex questions about the difference between leaders and managers. While managers must deal with problems that have clear answers, leaders must guide organizations through knotty issues that have no apparent, clean-cut solutions. Consultants David L. Dotlich, Peter C. Cairo and Cade Cowan maintain that you can learn to manage paradoxes, but not in management school. You must learn to accept contradictions, struggle with them and gradually sort them out in real life. This comprehensive guide – which is enhanced by a nice layout, good graphics, workable exercises and high readability – details how firms can deepen their capacity to handle paradoxes. As Albert Einstein said, "Everything must be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." getAbstract recommends this willing embrace of the complex to executives at all levels, academics who seek sophisticated solutions, and the leaders of NGOs and nonprofits.

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Copyright © 2014 Jossey-Bass, an imprint of John Wiley & Sons