Quote
“The Pool of Shared Meaning is the birthplace of synergy.”
— Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan & Al Switzler, in Crucial Conversations (2002) · Crucial Conversations →
Why it was said
The authors use the image of a pool to explain what dialogue does. Each person enters a conversation with their own pool of meaning: opinions, feelings, theories and experiences. Dialogue is the free flow of meaning between people, and this line comes from their argument that the more of it reaches the shared pool, the better the group's decisions.
What it actually means
A group can only decide well with the information it actually hears. When people hold back a concern because the conversation feels unsafe, the decision is made on a partial picture, and those who stayed silent are less committed to it afterwards. 'Synergy' here is not a slogan: it is the practical result of one person's fact meeting another's doubt before the decision is made. The line shifts the job of a meeting from winning the argument to filling the pool.
How to use it
- 1Before closing a decision, ask the quietest person in the room what concerns they have not yet raised.
- 2When someone disagrees, ask for the reasoning behind it before you answer, so their meaning enters the pool.
- 3After an important meeting, note which views were heard and who did not speak.