Recent Amazing Race winner, Nat Strand, has been recognized for her ability to endure the rugged, globetrotting scavenger hunt while managing her Type 1 diabetes. Strand and her teammate, Kat Chang, had to carry all of Strand’s equipment and medicine without assistance from the production crew. Strand was poking her finger numerous times each day in cars, boats, and other unusual locations. She had to protect and work with the insulin pump attached to her. She had to maintain her controlled diet in unexpected locations and eating unfamiliar food.

In an interview after winning the competition, Strand said, “As a diabetic, you’re very used to getting yourself out of a jam—like if you get low somewhere or you accidentally rip your pump out, or you run out of insulin or strips faster than you thought—you get pretty resourceful. It breeds this part of you that gets creative about dealing with adversity, and finding solutions to adversity is the biggest advantage in the Race, and in life.”

There have also been studies that show when we have challenges and limited choices, our brain goes into a problem solving mode. Creativity can lead to surprising and effective solutions.

When you are in the midst of a conflict, try imagining that you have some non-existent handicaps or limitations. It will force your brain to work more creatively, which may allow you to recognize some less obvious choices.

You have heard about saving your money to prepare for war. How about saving your money, and improving your skills and resources to prepare for peace?

Do you have a peace chest to handle conflict? Developing a peace chest is a decision to focus on teamwork, problem solving, and interest based negotiation rather than threats or power. A strong peace chest promotes harmony, encourages self-empowerment, and provides for healing.

Peacemaking is not easy, it requires a shift in thinking, and it can’t be done alone. You build your peace chest by doing the following things:

• Rely upon and develop a community of professional assistance
• Develop your owns skills in the area of listening, negotiation, creative thinking, brainstorming, tolerance, teamwork, and health and exercise.

You develop your skills by:

• Attending conflict management programs
• Reading books
• Watching videos
• Reading blogs, articles, and newsletters

I forgot in kindergarten.

Creativity, however, can be critical to finding solutions in the negotiation process. Successful negotiations typically require us to change our thinking process in order to move us away from positions and towards exploring solutions to resolve concerns.

Fortunately, Roger von Oech has written A Whack on the Side of the Head. Von Oech takes the premise that our educational system and business environment stifle creativity. Through this book, von Oech provides illustrations, puzzles, inspirational quotes, and exercises to help us adults rediscover our creativity.

Von Oech points out that solving a problem in negotiations requires “soft thinking”, which is imagination and creativity, and “hard thinking”, which is the practical phase of decision making. Both “soft thinking” and “hard thinking” have their place. When tackling a negotiation, we should start off like an artist, using “soft thinking” skills to realize there’s more than one idea. We can then convert to being a judge, using “hard thinking” skills” to decide which ideas are acceptable and practical to implement.

A Whack on the Side of the Head provides numerous examples and great lessons to improve negotiations. The book provides great information about where and how to use “soft skills” to look at a negotiation from a different perspective.

This is a must-read book that you can buy right here.