2
Collaboration Is Not
the Only Option

The Art of War is not only about making war. It is in fact a manual for how to work effectively and artfully with extreme and chaotic situations and with any kind of conflict. It not only acknowledges that conflict is inevitable in life but also tells us that we can accomplish our objective without adding to the conflict. That’s why people keep coming back to it—not because it tells them how to wage war better but because it tells them that conflict rarely needs to reach the level of “war,” where the highly polarized fight exhausts the resources of the parties involved, be they nations, business partners, colleagues, or friends.

—James Gimian and Barry Boyce

We can’t work out how to collaborate until we understand when to collaborate. Collaboration is only one of four ways that we can approach situations we find problematic. Collaboration is not always our best option.