Handling Company Disagreements
Disagreements between companies can be relatively minor and easy to solve. At worst, they can result in court cases that drag on for years and run into millions of dollars. This is why experts like Shalom Lamm vastly prefer to avoid such conflicts. There are plenty of methods you can adopt in order to keep them from getting out of hand.
Keep in Touch with Your Colleagues
Longtime members of the industry, such as Lamm among others, point to intimate communication as one of the primary ways to avoid conflict. This does not mean that you have to be bosom buddies with everyone in your workplace. However, since you work very closely together, you may as well strive to stay on the same page regarding business matters.
What it really boils down to is knowing how to agree upon the roles that each member of the team is assigned to play. There are also certain boundaries that must be set and then recognized. Once these are in place, they must be respected. Any violation of these social rules should be noticed so that measures can be taken to correct it.
Work Hard to Prevent Recurring Conflicts
As you grow more familiar with the members of your team, you are sure to notice certain things that may push their buttons. If this happens enough times, you will probably become aware of the specific triggers that can lead to friction. With this knowledge, you now have the key to taking measures to prevent such a conflict from recurring.
The best way to defuse a potential altercation may be to identify the exact point of contention. Once you have done so, you can proceed to a calm discussion. This can be the key to identifying a number of possible resolutions. You can then proceed to choose the one that works best.
Mediation and Arbitration Can Resolve Disputes
At some point, you may find it helpful to sit down with an official mediator or arbitrator. This is a third party who has no direct involvement in the dispute and can therefore be completely objective. The idea is to air out your differences and let the third party reach a decision.
Shalom Lamm believes that there are some crucial differences between a mediator and arbitrator that should be kept in mind. A mediator can suggest a solution but has no power to enforce it. An arbitrator acts in the same capacity but has the ability to make their final decision binding. You should be aware of this difference before you agree to this type of settlement.
In the end, if you can’t find a way to meet in the middle, you’re going to have to abandon negotiations. At this point, you will have no choice but to take the matter to court. This is a decision that should only be reached as a last resort. The sheer amount of time, money, and effort you spend should be making negotiation your first port of call.