Book
Both/And Thinking
Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems
From the leading experts on paradox comes an insightful and inspiring book for using both/and thinking to make more creative, flexible, and impactful decisions in a world of competing demands—a guide to life, work, and leadership.
Life is full of paradoxes. How can we each express our individuality and be a team player? How do we balance work and life? How can we take care of ourselves while supporting others? How can we manage the core business while innovating for the future?
For many of us, these competing and interwoven demands are a source of conflict. Since our brains love to make either-or choices, we choose one option over the other. We deal with uncertainty by asserting certainty.
There is a better way.
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INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS
PRAISE FOR BOTH/AND THINKING
“Reading Both/And Thinking has changed how I see myself and the world around me. Through their rigorous research and vulnerable voices, Professors Smith and Lewis gently guide us toward promising possibilities we may not have imagined in our either/or minds.”
— DOLLY CHUGH
Professor, NYU Stern School of Business;
Author, The Person You Mean to Be and A More Just Future
“We need to move beyond our reductionist, dichotomous thinking to embrace more holistic, integrative approaches. Smith and Lewis show us how we can all work together to do just that.”
— ZITA COBB
Founder and CEO, Shorefast
Innkeeper, Fogo Island Inn
“Is life a zero sum game? Does wanting more X mean we have to settle for less Y? Nowhere is this question clearer than in business and finance. Which is why this book is so important for today’s decision makers. By posing the alternative ‘both/and’ to the traditional ‘either/or,’ Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis explore the current relevance of the work-life balance debate in top-level employee management. A must-read for all senior executives.”
— SIR STELIOS HAI-IOANNOU
Founder, easyJet; Owner, easyGroup;
Chairman, Stelios Philanthropic Foundation
“This book is a must-read for anyone who wants creative and sustainable new insights to address our world’s greatest problems. Smith and Lewis have integrated compelling research to show us how to engage in a revo lutionary new way of thinking. Our world would be a better place if everyone read this book and adopted the tools for Both/And Thinking.”
— JEREMY HOCKENSTEIN
Founder and CEO, Digital Divide Data (DDD)
“We experience paradoxes everywhere, in business and in our personal lives. As leaders, the more we can identify paradoxes and know how to deal with them while avoiding the trap of solving for one issue, the more effective we can be. Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis’s book offers new insights into the many paradoxes we all face, along with a road map for addressing them. I highly recommend this book to all leaders.”
— TERRI KELLY
Former CEO, W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore)
“Part of being human is the internal tension we experience from competing demands across our personal and professional lives. Oh, the hours we spend in mental anguish! Both/And Thinking replaces win/lose solutions with problem-solving that collaborates with alternative choices and allows for creative possibilities. There are many people, including myself, who will sleep better after reading this brilliant book.”
— BETSY MYERS
Author, Take the Lead;
former Executive Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School
“Both/and thinking is mandatory for leaders today, as they must transcend the binary world of either/or and adopt a more holistic and transformative approach. Having spent decades studying how leaders do this, Smith and Lewis bring us the wisdom necessary for all leaders—and for all of us—living in this complex world.”
— ANTHONY SILARD
Author, Screened In and The Connection;
Professor of leadership and Director, the Center for Sustainable Leadership, Luiss Business School, Rome
“To navigate the increasing complexities of work, we need to abandon either/or thinking and embrace a both/and mindset. Smith and Lewis, the world’s leading authorities on paradoxes, have given us the guide book to do exactly that and tackle our most difficult problems.”
— SCOTT SONENSHEIN
Henry Gardiner Symonds Professor of Management, Rice University;
Bestselling Author, Stretch and Coauthor, Joy at Work
“Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis are giving their readers the gifts of critical thinking, discipline, and perspective as we learn to overcome life’s daily dilemmas in a more thoughtful, satisfying, and time-efficient manner.”
— MARTY WIKSTROM
Founding Partner, Atelier Fund
