For this post I am going to dissect the old truism, “There are always two sides” .  I believe there is some real accuracy within this statement when you dive in a little deeper.

I will begin by clarifying the context.  In this discussion I consider the statement as it applies to a situation where more than one person is involved.

Lets Start with Sides

My simple take on this is a “side” represents a position.  Of key importance is the simple reality that each participant  will have a position.  Often we assume the statement implies these positions will be different.

In fact the number of positions is equal to the number of individuals involved but each position might be the same or very close to the same.

Reaching Consensus

Given any multiple person interraction will involve multiple positions (sides) the first step toward agreement (positions are equal) or consensus (positions are complimentary) is to determine what the various positions are.

This clear and open communication of each position enables determination of the best approach to resolution, i.e., full agreement, concensus agreement or full disagreement.  (Although it might not be an optimal resolution, agreeing to disagree and whatever action is associated with that, is still a resolution)

It is not bad, in fact it would be unusual to have less then one position per involved stakeholder.  The point here is not about whether there are multiple positions or not (because there are) but rather how you deal with them.