Barry Johnson’s groundbreaking thought leadership has helped countless public and private sector organizations get to the heart of what really matters in delivering results and delighting customers.

Polarity Thinking has revolutionized how we approach tough problems in our work. There are countless moments – from making a big decision as a management team, to launching an issue campaign that requires navigating fraught political waters, to building deep and lasting coalitions, to building more inclusive and collaborative teams – in which we map out a polarity to push our thinking and hone our strategy. In today’s complex world of politics and advocacy, identifying ways to better leverage key polarities has exponentially increased our impact. We are vocal evangelists and have shared the tool with countless customers and partners who have adopted it to increase the efficacy of their own progressive advocacy work!

Polarity Thinking is the most elegant approach to dealing with the critical issues that we wrestle with in institutions, organizations, and groups the world over. When we grasp the concepts and their application, we realize that we can truly make a difference in the world by seeing and making sense of both horns of knotty dilemmas.

We use the Polarity Thinking framework extensively at our center and the university to help people reach their full potential while transforming their lives and the lives of others. Individual and organizational well-being is uplifted when we start to think in terms of possibilities.

Both/And thinking allows for the recognition that two seemingly contradictory things can both be true at the same time. Within equity, inclusion, and justice work, the Both/And lets us be honest about our privileges without descending into guilt or shame, recognize urgency while understanding that growth takes time, and focus on the concerns of marginalized communities while uplifting our shared humanity.

To be able to make a difference in the world has always mattered to me. [Polarity Thinking] has supported me to break out of the constrictions of Or and into my expanding world of And which holds more possibilities for me. In the space of more possibilities, I am more aware of my increased capacity to love and to be connected. I am no longer perplexed by the chronic conflict and polarization I see in organizations and in the world. I feel I can access the energy flow between two wants and hold the whole. That is how I make a difference in my circle of influence, and it is my hope that in some small way I make a difference in the world. I am confident that others will benefit as much as I have.

We use [Polarity Thinking] in leadership development intensives, large-scale change initiatives, and in conflict utilization, equipping leaders and their people from 55 countries. Frankly, I can’t imagine planning any kind of change or development initiative without embedding Polarity Thinking in it. Polarity Thinking - and the processes that make it so useful in the real world - are, in my opinion, one of the most significant contributions to change leadership and conflict utilization in recent history.

Polarity Thinking is one of the essential disciplines underlying our vital and never-ending search for win-win solutions to our many challenges and dilemmas…It can help us arrive at And solutions in a world that often seems hopelessly tangled in a bipolar dance within polarities. Along with systems thinking, Polarity Thinking is an essential skill that should be part of the education of every human being on the planet, especially anyone charged with leadership responsibilities.