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CHAPTER 38THE BENEFITS OF A CULTURE OF AGREEMENT

Whatever failures I have known, whatever errors I have committed,whatever follies I have witnessed in private and public life,have been the consequences of action without thought.

—Bernard Baruch

Putting agreements in place in all your endeavors is the antithesis of “action without thought.” Having agreements is a response, rather than a reaction, to a situation. Having agreements, and honoring their terms, is a way to avoid the consequences of reactive behavior that has no context. The benefit of a Culture of Agreement is dual: one is the incremental value of desired results, the other is avoidance of the negative costs of conflict. Let’s look at the negative side first.

The Cost of Conflict ...

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