Don’t take it personally
Conflict. The dirty “C” word that no one wants to talk about. However, in our latest Co-lab Better Together Mastermind Meeting we centered our conversation around this very topic. Why? Because it needs to be talked about in order to grow.
Conflict is a huge part of our lives and not one person can avoid it. Here are a few of our favorite quotes we highlighted in a book a few of us are reading, “Business Made Simple” by Donald Miller:
“Conflict and success go hand in hand. If you avoid conflict you will not achieve success.”
“Conflict is the byproduct of progress.”
We asked a group of entrepreneurs about their thoughts on conflict, how they deal with it, and what advice they’d give on it. Here’s what they had to say.
Editor’s Note: Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Conflict avoidance
“Conflict has felt challenging to me. Donald (Miller) articulates how necessary conflict is and it changed my perspective on it. Conflict is much easier for me now.” – Dianne Kaplan, 1st Priority Staffing
“I don’t like conflict. I try to avoid it but I’ve learned to communicate. When I have an issue, I try to solve it instead of playing the blame game.” – Carine Mulhall, Sunny Days Pet Resort
“I hate conflict. I’m a positive, happy person so I’d rather walk away from it. However, I’ve realized that conflict is part of the growing pains in life and you can learn a lot from it.” – Katie Yates, Paragon Cleaning
“I used to avoid conflict all the time but then I thought, ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’ You cannot change anyone but you can inspire them and offer a solution.” – Mark Gai
Deescalation
“Conflict is hard to talk about but even harder to engage in. If we can control the situation or our emotions, that’ll help de-escalate the situation to the point where we can start having a conversation about problem-solving rather than winning.” – Clarke Freed, Freed & Associates and The Bartow Chamber of Commerce
“Stick to the facts. Figure out if the person actually wants to solve the problem or if they just want to get something off their chest.” – Amber V., Atta Boy! Animal Care
“Know that some people can have personal things going on in their lives. Try to be understanding. If I deal with someone who is having a bad day, I empathize with them. I try to separate myself from whatever is bothering them.” – Chrissanne Long, Maximize Digital Media & BRIDGE Local
“The best day to deal with it is to embrace it, communicate, and be quick to forgive. Oh, and don’t let your ego get in the way!” – Rut Patel, Voyager Industries
For some in our group, they handle conflict well.
“I’ve worked in Human Resources for years so I’ve learned to choose my words wisely in business.” – Maira Swann, Stylishly You
“Conflict is the thing that I’m good at. I’m comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations. I live my life by a series of goals and that makes it easy to handle a conflict because you look at the outlook of what you want to have and make it happen. I’m not bogged down by worrying about how the info I bring to the conversation is received.” – Josh Sitta, Sittadel
What we’re hoping you got from this is that conflict is a necessary part of life and there are ways to handle it without causing even more tension. Conflict is not always a bad thing and in if dealt with in the correct way, it could allow you to grow.
Stay tuned for our upcoming events
Our next Mastermind Meeting takes place in two weeks! Also, join us for our Meet & Greet at Perfect Day Productions tomorrow night (April 1) at 5:30 p.m. Follow us on Facebook or sign up for our Digest to keep up with our upcoming events!
