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10. OBTAINING CONSENSUS <br />be met. In effect, this is a process of breaking people away from prior <br />positions they've taken, and pushing back to fundamentals: "So if <br />understand you correctly, it's not the fact that the building is twelve stories <br />high that's essential -- it's that twelve stories produced a satisfactory rate <br />of return; but if the same return could be achieved another way, it's the <br />return that really matters." What this does is open up a whole new range <br />of possibilities, and it is this opening up of possibilities that makes it <br />possible to imagine that there could be a solution that meets all <br />participants' interests. <br />Define Criteria for an Acceptable Solution <br />At this step, you take the interests identified above, make them specific, <br />and define how you're going to measure whether or not they have been - <br />met (e.g., what does a "reasonable" rate of return mean ?) In the process _ <br />of doing this you are developing an agreement that, if these criteria are - - <br />met, the solution is acceptable to everyone. Y <br />Jointly Identify Alternatives9_ <br />Now you jointly identify alternative solutions. The "jointly" is important for <br />two reasons. First, what has been created by virtue of the first few steps <br />i.. of this process is a sense that "we" -- all of us in this collaborative problem - - <br />solving process -- have a problem which "we" are trying to solve together. = _- <br />Since we share the problem, we're jointly looking for solutions. Second, <br />it's important at this stage that ideas not be associated with particular`° <br />people or groups (e.g., "John's idea," "the environmentalists' proposal," <br />etc.). In fact, you would usually use a technique such as brainstorming to t <br />ensure that there are many, many ideas, and they are not being --. =- <br />advocated by any particular group. <br />Jointly Evaluate Alternatives <br />Just as developing altematives is a shared activity, it's important to <br />evaluate the alternatives together so that no one becomes an advocate, <br />�,.. <br />and everybody has access to the same information. <br />Develop a Solution That Meets the Criteria <br />= =- <br />At this point, the most workable ideas are put together in various <br />combinations in an effort to find one or more solution which meets the <br />- <br />criteria established earlier. Be aware that these solutions may not meet <br />_- <br />- �.- <br />67 <br />