154 Mobilize the System
Orchestrating conflict requires courage, to different degrees for dif-
ferent people. Here are some suggestions based on characteristics we
have seen when people have tried to lead adaptive change in this way:
• Push the boundaries of your own tolerance for conflict. Orches-
trating conflict requires tolerating a high degree of conflict your-
self, perhaps more than you are comfortable with.
• Play with the bad guys. You will have to interact with hostile or
antagonistic factions, and engage them on their own terms, not
yours, even when their terms make no sense to you. And that
means you will probably take some heat from the people you con-
sider your core constituents, your primary loyalties, perhaps the
division from where y ...