Mark McKergow

Paul Z. Jackson

This is a new and updated edition of this acclaimed first business book on the powerful, simple yet subtle approach to positive change in people, teams and organisations. Used around the world by a wide range of people, professions and organisations, the first edition has now sold nearly 10,000 copies and been translated into 7 languages. Including new chapters reflecting the increasing importance of coaching and the solutions focus movement in the business environment, this wide-ranging book is filled with all the most important ideas, case examples and practical tips for managers, facilitators and consultants. Proven in many fields and with a distinguished intellectual heritage, "The Solutions Focus" provides a simple and direct route to progress in your organisation. It focuses on: solutions - not problems; in between: the action is in the interaction; make use of what's there; possibilities - past, present and future; and language. Every case is different. The trouble with traditional approaches to people problems is that they assume a straightforward relationship between cause and effect, between a problem and its solution. A solutions-focused approach sidesteps the search for the causes of a problem and heads straight for the solution, showing you how to envisage your preferred future and quickly takes steps forward. The authors present a set of practical techniques, including specific forms of questioning that lead to immediate action and results. They show how to identify what is working in your organisation and amplify it to make useful changes; to focus on what is possible rather than what is intractable and how to be solution focused, not solution forced.

Making Coaching and Change SIMPLE

The Solutions Focus

Janine Waldman

Positively Speaking: The Art of Constructive Conversations with a Solutions Focus By Paul Z Jackson and Janine Waldman Suppose.. You've got a difficult conversation that you're really not looking forward to You want to change your boss's mind, but he doesn't listen You need your team - or your children - to take responsibility for their own issues Top consultants Paul Z Jackson and Janine Waldman take you on a tour of successful, constructive conversations, from preparation through opening remarks to agreeing the right actions. Illustrated throughout with tips, examples and exercises, Positively Speaking will develop your skills in creating dialogue that works well for you at work, in social settings and at home. With a resource-based, solutions-focused approach, you will find it simpler and more enjoyable to get what you want by talking to people the Positively Speaking way. And the results will be positively extraordinary. Praise for Positively Speaking: "With Positively Speaking Jackson and Waldman have created my dream Solutions Focus book: they make the concepts absurdly easy to understand and - more importantly - they make the material relevant to my work and relationships " Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener, Programme Director, Center of Applied Positive Psychology "The strategic application of Solution Focused approaches can help unlock the most challenging aspects of executive leadership in the modern public sector. Jackson and Waldman's approach instils the discipline of simplicity and builds confidence through positive enquiry. I have greatly benefited from working with them and recommend Positively Speaking as a way ahead." Andrew Fowlie, General Manager, NHS Grampian "For me, there's nothing like going on a course and gaining new skills - unless it's a book like 'Positively Speaking', which gives me background, theory, case studies, models and, most importantly real concrete ways to put all of that into practice in my day-to day work of coaching, facilitation and working through conflict. This book is a real asset to any practitioner who needs to 'just do it' - just great." Ann Lukens, Director, Groupworks "This resource really does live up to its aim of helping us learn more about what we can do rather than what we can't. I like the way it brings the idea of Solutions Focus to life through examples, case studies and practical exercises. I'll definitely be using these ideas in my work as a facilitator and coach." Colin Coombs, Learning & Development Manager, Tate Paul Z Jackson and Janine Waldman are co-directors of The Solutions Focus (www.thesolutionsfocus.co.uk), leading a team of consultants, facilitators and coaches who apply this approach worldwide in organisations including Beiersdorf (Nivea), PepsiCo, Reading Borough Council, John Laing and The Metropolitan Police

The Art of Constructive Conversations with a Solutions Focus

Positively Speaking

These games and activities for workshops and courses use one of the keys to accelerated learning - improvisation. The games are intended to create an environment of improvisation and experiment, of imagination and energy, of laughter and commitment.

Paul Z. Jackson

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