Preventing Everyday Conflicts

Conflict seems to be everywhere: in our homes, our workplaces, and especially lately, in our government. But it doesn’t have to be a part of your daily life, according to Tim Scudder. His firm helps companies and executives handle workplace conflict.

Dan Tero — iStockphoto

He says conflict anywhere can be an opportunity to resolve long-standing issues and can help us lead more productive lives. It’s not just about resolution. It is also, he says, about learning to have nicer conflicts.

Scudder is CEO of Personal Strengths USA and co-author of Have a Nice Conflict: A Story of Finding Success and Satisfaction in the Most Unlikely Places. “As one set of conflicts is resolved,” he says, “others will take their place, so it’s important to learn how to make conflicts productive and positive, instead of allowing them to distract us from our goals.”

Scudder shares five keys to conflict:

Anticipate. Know who you’re dealing with. Consider how differently others might view the same situation. When people see things differently, there is potential conflict. Keeping that in mind can give you a good shot at steering clear of it.

Prevent. Use deliberate, appropriate behaviors in your relationships. A well-chosen behavior on your part can prevent conflict with another person. But sometimes, you also need to prevent conflict in yourself. That might have more to do with choosing your perceptions than choosing your behaviors.

Identify. There are three basic approaches to conflict: rising to the challenge, cautiously withdrawing, or wanting to keep the peace. When you can identify these approaches in yourself or others, you are empowered to handle the situation more productively.

Manage. This has two components: managing yourself and managing the relationship. Create conditions that empower people to manage themselves out of the emotional state of conflict. It’s also about managing yourself out, which can be as easy as taking time to see things differently.

Resolve. To reach resolution, we must show others a path back to feeling good about themselves. When they do, they are less likely to feel threatened and are free to move toward compromise and resolution.

“Unresolved or poorly managed conflict costs companies in ways they can’t even calculate,” he adds. For example, recent research shows the top reason people leave jobs is poor relationships with supervisors. “Lost institutional memory, low productivity, bad morale, high turnover all cost real dollars.” But well-managed conflict can not only prevent those losses -- it can also promote higher productivity and a stronger bottom line.

Maybe Scudder should visit Washington, D.C.


Tim Scudder is a CPA and president of Personal Strengths Publishing Inc. Since 1995, he has focused on helping clients improve relationships.

For more about resolving conflict, join us at the August luncheon,
where Ken Sande will talk about peacemaking.

Do you have expert advice to share? E-mail Kristen.

Helping people find their purpose

If you heard Kevin McCarthy speak at the chamber luncheon last September, you know his mission is to help others be on-purpose.* Many of us have been through the On-Purpose Leader Experience, a transformative seminar that helps people focus on their purpose, vision, and mission.

Kevin is looking to broaden the On-Purpose reach with a small group study, and has applied for a grant from Intuit, maker of Quicken and Quickbooks software. To get the grant, Kevin's company,  On-Purpose Partners, needs votes:  http://bit.ly/khwhji.

If On-Purpose Partners wins the grant, it will fund completion of the small group materials for his book The On-Purpose Person. This would be a great resource, so I encourage you to support the endeavor.

* If you didn't hear Kevin speak at the chamber, here's a link to a replay.

Listening to Your Customers

By George F. Brown Jr.

Successful business strategies build upon shared successes. When your strategy creates value for your customers, your firm also gains value.

Photo by Carl Dwyer | sxc.hu

One tool critical to such strategies is customer-based insight. Many businesses have some kind of Voice of the Customer program to gather insight from customers. There are three primary goals for such a program:

Gain customer input.

Learn the customer’s perspective on the future business environment and their most pressing needs. This brings insights about product innovation, critical services, trends, and more. These insights can help you get ahead of opportunities and strengthen your value. The key is to keep looking forward, rather than focusing on past performance.

We’ve all had “Duh!” moments—when an insight that should have been obvious was overlooked. One of my Duh! moments (and I admit to many) occurred in a company I was running some time ago, when we faced major challenges keeping up as our customers expanded globally. The Duh! moment came when a colleague asked, “Have we ever asked our customers about their expansion plans?” We started to do so, and the problem never resurfaced.

Effective listening doesn’t stop with direct customers. It’s necessary to listen to all of their customers. Pay attention to the entire customer chain: the path that leads from your customers all the way to the final users of their products. Perspectives vary at each stage, with implications that ripple backwards and forwards. Remarkable insights can be gained simply by asking customers at each stage what they would like to know about the other stages.

Learn what makes a best-in-class supplier.

Identify the metrics customers use to evaluate their suppliers, then develop internal action plans to meet those targets. Blue Canyon Partners identified three clusters where such metrics are concentrated: relationships between suppliers and customers, the suppliers’ ability to meet customers’ expectations, and suppliers’ ability to deliver high-value innovations.

Two things make this a challenge: First, while the three metrics clusters almost always apply, actions to be implemented differ from one customer to the next. Customize your program to gain insights about individual customers. Amalgamated data can yield an outcome that is right on average, but missing the mark with each individual customer.

Second, it takes insights from many people to get an overall picture. A customer’s perspective is shaped by the experiences of many people: designers, engineers, salespeople, and so on. Rarely does any individual know all the details relevant to every dimension of the supplier’s relationship with their company. It takes a lot of listening to understand what matters to a major customer, but that effort is required if a solid portrait is to be developed.

Fix what’s important to the customer.

Too often, this is the only goal addressed by the Voice of the Customer program. It is important, but is third in terms of long-term impact. It requires focusing on what can be improved along all the dimensions of customer interaction. There are three keys to doing this without focusing on the past:

First, topics should only be brought up after discussions about the future environment and the characteristics of best-in-class suppliers have been completed.

Second, distinguish between generic wishes for “better” and situations in which current performance is bad compared to competitors or a meaningful benchmark.

Third, learn whether customers will reward a supplier for improvements in metrics where they say they want “better.”

Select a few targets in which to invest management attention. Narrow the focus to action plans where improvement will provide a payoff. Learn what the customer would do differently if a certain change were made. If the answer is “nothing,” then the change should be reconsidered. On the other hand, if the customer can explain with clarity how the change would leave them better off, then the change has the potential to create value for both firms.

George F. Brown Jr., along with Atlee Valentine Pope, is the co-author of CoDestiny: Overcome Your Growth Challenges by Helping Your Customers Overcome Theirs, published by Greenleaf Book Group Press. Brown is also CEO and co-founder of Blue Canyon Partners Inc., a strategy consulting firm.

Do you have expert advice to share? E-mail Kristen.

Support team for elder care needs

By Mark Goldstein

If you were at the chamber Business-Building Lunch in April, you heard me tell how Cathy Crossman and her staff at Transition Options not only helped us find the assisted living facility that best suited my parents, but negotiated with them to save us $1,500 up front and another $800 every month.

Andrejs Pidjass
Fotolia.com

Transition Options has helped not only Rhawnie and I, but also my parents, during their transition into assisted living. I must admit, we were woefully unprepared for the challenges of the past few months. As most of you already know, my mother has Alzheimer’s disease and my father is in very poor health. Cathy and her team have been there for us every step of the way.

When my parents moved, my mother had difficulty adjusting because of the disease. Transition Options gave additional personalized care, and they continue to provide much-needed services, allowing Rhawnie and me to focus more on chamber needs. It’s said that the biggest concern for caregivers ends up being the quality of their mental health. In our case, we are at complete peace knowing we have our “back-up plan” in place with Transition Options.

The bottom line: If you, or anyone you know, are having to care for the ever-increasing needs of your parents and have not already created a “back-up plan,” I strongly and enthusiastically recommend that you contact Cathy Crossman at Transition Options. She will custom-tailor a plan that will meet every care-giving need. You can contact her at 407-629-5233.

If someone has gone “above and beyond” to provide you with outstanding service, please let us know.

Go also the second mile

By Mark Goldstein

Kotangens - Fotolia.com

I’ve been trying to help my mother and father through their transition into assisted living. They have both reached a point where they need special care in every aspect of their lives. Needless to say, this has put an extra burden on me. Fortunately there are many caring people who are helping greatly.

An example of this happened when I was washing my parent’s car and realized that the registration expired in February. Checking further, I found the insurance had lapsed also. After going online to re-register the car, I immediately called my friend Angie Martinez, principal of Florida Chartered Insurance Group in Oviedo, and explained the situation. She contacted Jacqueline Eiermann, a senior agent who specializes in auto and home insurance.

Within one hour, on a Sunday afternoon, Jacqueline had secured an insurance policy for the car. But here’s the best part: Since my parents had let their insurance lapse, they should have had to pay a large penalty. However, Jacqueline was able to add me to their policy, and the company accepted this as continuous coverage. What’s more, she had already gotten me a quote with that company, and even though I hadn’t switched yet, that company still offered a multi-car discount. Talk about going the extra mile for a client!

The bottom line is that when you approach the renewal date on your home or auto policy, I would strongly recommend that you first contact Jacqueline Eiermann. She will not only get you the best value, but as you can see, she never stops working for her clients. You can reach her at 407-278-0423 or by e-mail.

…and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.—Matt. 5:41 NRSV

Have a great story about one of your fellow chamber members? E-mail Kristen.

Sabbaticals: A Strategic Tool for Improving Bottom Line Results

by Rita Foley

Corporations that offer sabbaticals don’t do it as a nicety. They do it because it’s good for employees, for the company, and for customers.

Laurent Hamels -- Fotolia.com

Most of us have worked since we were in our late teens or early 20s, so of course it’s natural to crave some time off. Here are six reasons more companies are implementing sabbatical programs:

Employees return rejuvenated: Close to 100 percent of sabbatical takers return to their companies with higher levels of engagement, loyalty, motivation and appreciation for their employers. Research shows a high percentage of promotion and improved performance levels among sabbatical takers. But companies that provided sabbaticals only by exception, rather than as policy, had more sabbatical takers who did not return to work or remain employed with the company.

Clients will allow it: Some companies, especially professional firms, say the intense one-on-one relationship with clients prohibits sabatticals. The reality is many such firms offer sabbaticals. One law firm partner told me that sabbaticals actually help neutralize the ego factor. “It’s not healthy for the firm if a client gets too dependent on just one person.”

It can be cost efficient: This is another one that is especially hard for lawyers or other firms who share profits. But if everyone takes a sabbatical, then, at one time or another, each will cover for another and the profit washes out. Some companies offer only partial pay for sabbatical takers, but even for those who offer full pay, a sabbatical program shouldn’t cost you. Maybe at a clerical level you might have to hire a temp, but with careful preparation and juggling, work can usually be covered by existing employees.

Implementation is essential: It’s all in the preparation. The companies I spoke to have a very simple and effective system. Upon approaching the sabbatical year, an employee writes a memo to their boss requesting the specific time off. They then meet and outline coverage.

Stagger sabbaticals: In a formal program, one of the main concerns is how to start the implementation with tenured employees who have passed the five- or seven-year mark -- some many times. Most companies simply stagger leaves over a three-year period.

The bottom line: Our nation will lose its innovation and creativity if we don’t invest in our most important asset: our employees. We tune up our PCs, our cars, and our home heaters. Why not encourage people to give their minds and spirits a tune-up? Time and time again, sabbatical takers return as more interested and engaged employees, more loyal and more creative. Sabbaticals broaden a company by bringing in new ideas.

Loyalty alone should justify implementing a program. The cost of hiring and training a new employee can be 1.5 times a departing worker’s salary. Sharon Allen, Deloitte’s chairwoman, said her firm’s sabbaticals and flexibility policies had saved more than $45 million a year by reducing turnover.

A sabbatical program is a wonderful tool for checking an organization’s depth and breadth. Managers must proactively focus on developing their staff, complete succession planning, and provide training and exposure to teams. Sabbaticals promote teamwork and better decision-making.


Twenty per cent of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For offer fully paid sabbaticals. If you want to be a workplace of choice while still adding to the bottom line and the company’s future, consider implementing a sabbatical program.

Rita Foley is an adviser with Crenshaw Associates and is a co-author of Reboot Your Life: Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break.

Do you have expert advice to share? E-mail Kristen.

Five Common Sales Team afflictions

by John R. Treace

Problems in sales teams can be found to some degree in almost every organization. Smart managers are aware of this and work to avoid the potential reduction in morale and performance. Any one of these problems will not necessarily hurt sales efforts, but multiple conditions at once can be extremely harmful.

Affliction 1: Wasting time

Endostock -- Fotolia.com

Forcing salespeople to perform non-sales tasks such as making accounts receivable collections, managing product recalls, or filling out reports unrelated to the sales process may be a waste of their time. Consider delegating these tasks to non-salespeople. If you divert five percent of a sales team’s time to collections, you effectively reduce the number of feet on the ground by the same amount. The reverse is true as well. It’s worthwhile to audit processes to see whether non-sales tasks can be re-assigned. Relieving the sales team of such tasks will result in increased sales.

Affliction 2: Poor sales meetings

The objective of any sales meeting should be to increase sales. Period. Every high-performing salesperson in a meeting thinks, “Is this meeting making me money, or is my time being wasted?” Powerful salespeople are self-motivated and intuitively know if their time is being wasted. If it is, management is hurting morale -- and sales. To ensure effective meetings, develop a strategic intent that includes clear success metrics. Define in specific terms what metrics are needed to determine whether goals are met. It takes a deep understanding of the business, the market, and the competition to do this. Powerful sales meetings produce sales and keep morale high.

Affliction 3: Poor strategy

Ineffective marketing or sales strategies will always hurt the sales team. This is especially true for teams selling commodity products or services. A player with small market share who enters a commodity market without a well-defined and well-implemented strategy can be assured of certain death. These types of companies usually say, “It’s a huge market, and we can grab some of it,” but it’s not that simple. The sales team will recognize ineffective strategy and will lose faith in the managers who developed it.

To compound the error, companies often try special promotions to save sagging sales on ill-conceived products. Some promotions can be effective, but managers should never call for a pointless charge of the light brigade. Sending the sales team to support a poor product or service is a severe tactical error. A successful sales effort hinges on good strategy. Companies that fail in this regard severely handicap their sales teams.

Affliction 4: Capping or reducing income

Powerful companies have managers who do not envy large sales force paychecks. Managers who resent highly paid salespeople often respond by reducing commissions, capping earnings, reducing territories, or removing products. Avoid these practices. They destroy morale. Powerful salespeople want to leverage today’s efforts into greater sales and income for tomorrow. If their earnings are limited, they will feel that ability has been taken away. High performers will soon look for employment elsewhere.


Affliction 5: Favoritism

We all have favorites in life, and that’s normal, but playing favorites on a sales team is destructive. Salespeople want to work for companies that keep the playing field level. If select salespeople are given extra incentives, benefits, or favors not available to others, management is creating a privileged class. Managers can’t build loyalty by strengthening a small political power base. Keeping the playing field level will pay big dividends.

Wasting time, poor sales meetings, poor strategy, capping income, and playing favorites are, with few exceptions, situations to be avoided. They are destructive to morale and lead to poor performance. Effective managers avoid these situations, and astute salespeople will bring these practices to the attention of management for correction.

John R. Treace is the founder of JR Treace & Associates, a sales management consulting business. He is the author of Nuts & Bolts of Sales Management: How to Build a High-Velocity Sales Organization. Website: www.treaceconsulting.com.

Do you have expert advice to share? E-mail Kristen.