Today’s current business owner and tomorrow’s entrepreneur alike require a range of critical skills to successfully navigate the challenges of doing business. Often overlooked and undervalued are the soft, people skills that mark the difference between deal-making and deal-breaking. One’s ability to mediate opposing interests and find win-win solutions in the face of conflict is a considerable leverage point that can save time, money and get results.
Here are a few quick tips for the businessperson to remember when opposing viewpoints or agendas need to come together:
- Attack the problem, not the person. Remember to be hard on the substance of the dispute but soft on the people. Although emotions may rise, both parties are in the same situation. Step back, separate the person from the problem and make a good faith attempt to put energy into solutions vs. blaming.
- Reframe for easier understanding. The way you speak your mind is often more important than what you say. To hear and be heard, use open language that expresses the simple points. Avoid comments embellished with condescending jargon, personal attacks or negative tones.
- Find ways to create more value. It is easy to focus on a ‘fixed-pie’, or a finite set of value when competing. Try to expand the pie by understanding deeper interests that could lead to other possible points of agreement.
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