Adam Kahane Books
Adam Kahane is a director of Reos Partners, an international social enterprise that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues. He has worked in more than fifty countries with governments, corporations, and civil society organizations.
Known for: Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People You Don’t Agree with or Like or Trust, Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together
Books by Adam Kahane
Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People You Don’t Agree with or Like or Trust
In this book, Adam Kahane explores how to collaborate effectively with people who hold opposing views, interests, or values. Drawing on his experience in conflict resolution and social change projects...
Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together
In this book, Adam Kahane presents a practical approach to collaboration that helps groups overcome polarization and gridlock. Drawing on his experience facilitating complex social and organizational ...
Key Insights from Adam Kahane
Defining Collaboration
Most of us have been taught that collaboration is a matter of alignment: you gather stakeholders, find common ground, and reach agreement. This works when the problem is simple, when interests and values converge, and when control is possible. But in contexts of deep polarization and complexity, tha...
From Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People You Don’t Agree with or Like or Trust
The Challenge of Polarization
Everywhere I traveled—South Africa after apartheid, Guatemala after civil war, corporate tables where unions and CEOs barely spoke—I found the same pattern: polarization makes people withdraw. One side sees itself as righteous and the other as misguided, malicious, or ignorant. Collaboration seems i...
From Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People You Don’t Agree with or Like or Trust
The Nature of Stuckness
When I talk about groups being "stuck," I’m not referring to simple inefficiency or lack of motivation. Stuckness is deeper—it reflects the structural tension that arises when people hold incompatible goals or operate within systems that reward contention. I have seen this in political dialogues bet...
From Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together
Traditional Approaches and Their Limits
Much of what passes for facilitation today strives for consensus and control. Traditional methods assume cooperation is possible if we manage communication properly, set clear goals, and encourage goodwill. These tools work well when participants share common objectives and trust. But in the world I...
From Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together
About Adam Kahane
Adam Kahane is a director of Reos Partners, an international social enterprise that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues. He has worked in more than fifty countries with governments, corporations, and civil society organizations. Kahane is also the author...
Read more
Adam Kahane is a director of Reos Partners, an international social enterprise that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues. He has worked in more than fifty countries with governments, corporations, and civil society organizations. Kahane is also the author...
Adam Kahane is a director of Reos Partners, an international social enterprise that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues. He has worked in more than fifty countries with governments, corporations, and civil society organizations. Kahane is also the author of several influential books on collaboration and change, including 'Solving Tough Problems' and 'Collaborating with the Enemy.'
Frequently Asked Questions
Adam Kahane is a director of Reos Partners, an international social enterprise that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues. He has worked in more than fifty countries with governments, corporations, and civil society organizations.
Read Adam Kahane's books in 15 minutes
Get AI-powered summaries with key insights from 2 books by Adam Kahane.