There is an article in the Volunteer Leadership issue of Associations Now titled, “Balanced Conflict, Better Decisions.” The conclusions in the article concern me. I’m paraphrasing here, but the article says: “Cognitive” conflict is about contradictory perspectives, where “affective” conflict is personalized, emotional, and political. Association boards make better decisions by delegating cognitive conflict to [...]
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Yesterday I was interviewed by Michele Price on her Breakthrough Business Strategy internet radio show about our book, Humanize. In the conversation Michele asked about my background in conflict resolution and we talked a bit about how training in conflict resolution might be a good idea for people engaging in social media. I, of course, [...]
Continue ReadingGetting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher and William Ury Penguin, 1981 This might be the oldest book that I’ve reviewed here on the blog–the original edition published in 1981. Yes. Thirty years ago. But this one truly is a classic. Remember that I come from the conflict resolution field. I [...]
Continue ReadingHere’s a simple but important conflict resolution tip: when you’re having a conflict conversation, keep having it until it is finished. It sounds self-evident, but you’d be surprised how many people stop the conversation before it is over. In general, that will make the conflict worse over time. But I see how it happens. You [...]
Continue ReadingIn Chapter 3 of Humanize, we make the case that organizations, in general, are not adapting fast enough to our changing times. And we don’t pull any punches. We actually say that best practices are “evil.” We suggest (citing well-researched books that say the same thing) that strategic planning flat out doesn’t work. We put [...]
Continue ReadingOne of my favorite books that cuts across two of my favorite topics (truth and conflict) is Michael Roberto's Why Leaders Don't Take Yes for An Answer. He is the source of the definition I often use of consensus: it's not universal agreement–it is a combination of a high level of shared understanding with a [...]
Continue ReadingGenerally speaking, conflict makes us uncomfortable. This is more true for some than others, but based on years of observing this in various fields, I easily recognize the pattern now. A conflict emerges. Two people on the same work team who thought things were going well now seem to want to go in different directions. [...]
Continue ReadingHere's a quick tip for working through conflict situations: be forgiving of the other party when they do things wrong. Let them get the facts wrong. Let them suggest that your intentions are one way, when you know they are another. Let them base their conclusion on inaccurate information they got from someone else. When [...]
Continue ReadingOkay, Day 2 at the TSAE New Ideas Conference, and this morning's session is "Managing Conflict With Confidence: 7 Tips for Conflict Resolution." Thanks to everyone who came out to the session. Here are some resources for you: The slides are here (and embedded below, though I don't know why slideshare always duplicates the second [...]
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Jamie is a Vice President at MSP where he leads the consulting division. 
