Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS) Archives

Conflict Clouds | Evaporating Cloud | High Performance through Engagement | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS)

Rising Above the Clouds — Where HPtE Becomes a Method
ByKarl Perry June 23, 2026June 23, 2026

If you have ever sat in a meeting where everyone is right and nothing moves, you already know what this book is about. Two parties, both protecting something that matters. Both arguing from a legitimate place. Both convinced the other side is the problem. The conversation circles. The cost climbs. And eventually someone caves, or…

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Collective Problem Solving | Group Effectiveness Training | High Performance through Engagement | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS)

Interest Based Problem Solving: The Engine of High Performance through Engagement
ByKarl Perry November 16, 2024November 19, 2024

Interest Based Problem Solving (IBPS) is more than just a conflict resolution tool—it’s the core methodology driving successful High Performance through Engagement (HPtE) Strategy® implementations. By focusing on underlying interests rather than positions, IBPS enables organisations to harness tension between competing priorities and transform potential conflicts into opportunities for innovation and growth. The Challenge: Balancing…

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Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS)

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself,” – Henry Ford
ByKarl Perry November 11, 2024November 18, 2024

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High Performance through Engagement | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS) | Organisational Performance | The 3Cs Model

When an Aviation Icon Chose Collaboration Over Conflict
ByKarl Perry March 25, 2024March 26, 2026

In 2013, Air New Zealand faced a problem that plagues organisations worldwide: decades of adversarial union-management relationships that drained resources, stifled innovation, and created a culture of mutual distrust. CEO Christopher Luxon called it the “Punch and Judy Show” — a theatrical performance where management and unions played predictable roles, fighting the same battles repeatedly…

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High Performance through Engagement | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS) | Organisational Performance

Five Ways Interest-Based Problem-Solving Accelerates Personal Growth and Development at Work
ByKarl Perry March 25, 2023June 16, 2023

Interest-Based Problem-Solving, an approach rooted in addressing the underlying needs, interests, and concerns of all parties involved, has gained prominence as an effective method for conflict resolution and collaboration in the workplace. In addition to fostering stronger working relationships, this method can also accelerate personal growth and development. By incorporating elements of Robert Kegan’s Constructive…

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Collective Problem Solving | Interest-Based Mediation | Interest-Based Negotiations | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS) | Managing Conflict in the Workplace | The 3Cs Model

What is Interest-Based Problem-Solving?
ByKarl Perry November 30, 2022November 19, 2024

It is estimated that employees spend 42% of their time engaging in or attempting to resolve conflict and 20% of Managers’ time is consumed with conflict-related issues. Masters and Albright (2002), in The Complete Guide to Conflict Resolution in the Workplace, point out that people thrive on conflict in most areas of their lives–football games, political debates, legal disputes–yet…

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Interest-Based Mediation | Interest-Based Negotiations | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS)

Interest Based Problem Solving – The Steps
ByKarl Perry November 29, 2022March 31, 2023

At its heart, Interest Based Problem Solving is inherently simple. There are four steps. Step 1: Defining the Problem – The Opportunity Statement This step leads a team to develop an Opportunity Statement. An opportunity statement creates the boundaries for the problem solving, usually begins with “What can/might we do to …”, is open-ended and…

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Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS) | Theory of Constraints

The problems with Interest-Based Problem-Solving and how to fix them
ByKarl Perry November 29, 2022July 12, 2023

The use of Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS) to engage employees (and their representatives) in solving business problems is gaining momentum worldwide. At its heart, IBPS is a form of systems thinking that provides a structure to a problem solving or negotiating session where instead of it being “you against me because of the problem”, it becomes “you and…

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Interest-Based Negotiations | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS) | Managing Conflict in the Workplace | Recommended Reading

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
ByKarl Perry November 25, 2022March 31, 2023

The foundation text on interest-based problem-solving and negotiation. Since its original publication nearly thirty years ago, “Getting to Yes” has helped millions of people learn a better way to negotiate. One of the primary business texts of the modern era, it is based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals…

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Interest-Based Mediation | Interest-Based Negotiations | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS) | Managing Conflict in the Workplace

Interests and Positions – IBPS and a Tale of Two Chefs
ByKarl Perry October 25, 2022March 31, 2023

Interest Based Problem Solving is one of the key tools used in a High Performance through Engagement Strategy. It enables the people closest to the customer or processes to clarify the problems, analyse the problem, develop multiple options and craft innovative solutions. The use of Interest Based Problem Solving (IBPS) as a means to engage…

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Interest-Based Negotiations | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS)

What is interest-based bargaining? A free online training module.
ByKarl Perry April 3, 2022March 31, 2023

This is one of the best online introductions to Interest-Based Bargaining we have seen. It was produced by the The Fair Work Commission in Australia. Learn about a collaborative approach to bargaining – interest-based bargaining – and hear from employers, employees and representatives who have used it in their workplaces. Module overview This learning module…

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High Performance Organisations | High Performance through Engagement | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS)

Ladies and gentlemen. The financial performance is not enough! A word from Goldratt.
ByKarl Perry April 22, 2020June 30, 2024

“Ladies and gentleman. The financial performance is not enough. The real thing is the harmony within the company. If you have the harmony within the company the financial performance will arrive. If you don’t have the harmony inside the company the financial performance, even if you have them, will be lost. The real key is…

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High Performance Organisations | High Performance through Engagement | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS) | Organisational Performance

“Perhaps the majority on either side do not believe that it is possible so to arrange their mutual relations that their interests become identical.”
ByKarl Perry January 14, 2020March 31, 2023

“It would seem to be so self‑evident that maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with maximum prosperity for the employé, ought to be the two leading objects of management, that even to state this fact should be unnecessary. And yet there is no question that, throughout the industrial world, a large part of the organization…

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Collective Problem Solving | Group Effectiveness Training | High Performance Teams | Human Synergistics | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS)

The Group Styles Inventory (GSI)
ByKarl Perry November 14, 2019March 31, 2023

The Group Styles Inventory (GSI) is the only research-based tool that provides a valid and reliable measure of how people in groups interact with each other and work as a team to solve problems. Extensively researched and internationally proven, this assessment provides group members with a ‘safe’ way to talk about their behaviour and how…

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Collective Problem Solving | Group Effectiveness Training | Human Synergistics | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS)

How to create an environment for breakthrough results in any team.
ByKarl Perry July 15, 2019March 31, 2023

Team breakthroughs require a combination of skill and expertise, constructive interpersonal behaviour and rational thinking. The size of your breakthrough depends on the quality of the decision, multiplied by the degree to which the decision is accepted by those who must implement it. Quality and Acceptance are brought about through consensus decision-making. Skill and expertise…

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Collective Problem Solving | Group Effectiveness Training | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS)

Team Development – Using Simulations
ByKarl Perry June 19, 2019March 31, 2023

Survival Simulation Series exercises require team members to work together effectively to deal with life-threatening situations. These simulations can be used as icebreakers, to establish Constructive norms within a new work group, or to introduce members to the value of synergy or to gauge their synergistic problem-solving skills. How Simulations work Synergy occurs when the interactive…

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Collective Problem Solving | High Performance through Engagement | Interest-Based Problem-Solving (IBPS)

KiwiRail – HPHE
ByKarl Perry August 15, 2018August 15, 2024

At KiwiRail, adopting a high performance, high engagement strategy has helped them boost engagement, increase productivity and improve health and safety.

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