GDS : When Goliaths Clash

When Goliaths Clash: Book Highlights

When Goliaths has been selected as one of the top 30 best business books of 2003 by Soundview Executive Book Summaries and is available in bookstores or can be ordered directly from Amazon.com.

Using Conflict Management Skills

The vice president of marketing for North America wants to introduce new packaging for a pharmaceutical product. Making the change worldwide would result in large savings and make it easier to sell his idea to upper management, but his counterpart in Europe isn't buying in.
The head of finance has developed a new format for monthly reports, which he wants all departments to follow. "No way," says the sales director. "I prefer the old format."
Two executives share the services of an administrative assistant, and each wants 75 percent of the person's time. Too bad she doesn't have a twin.

In each of these situations, two people have needs that are in opposition, and each is determined to prevail. This is a powder keg waiting to be ignited, and defusing it will require the full range of conflict-management skills.

There are four options that are available for dealing with conflict:

Play the victim. Say nothing, act powerless, and complain.
Leave. Physically remove oneself from involvement.
Change oneself. Move off one's position, shift one's view of the other party, or let it go.
Confront. Address the issue openly, candidly, and objectively; communicate with the other party.

Option one is never viable. Playing the victim generally exacerbates a situation by sweeping conflict under the carpet. It causes hard feelings and delays the inevitable. The second option is often unavailable. Besides, conflict is inevitable, and you need to learn methods for dealing with it. Changing yourself is fine, but don't count on being able to do it. The question is: What price are you willing to pay?

This leaves confronting as the most effective way to resolve issues without igniting thermonuclear war. We recommend using an overall strategy for confronting, which we call The Four C's Approach.

The Four C's for Confronting

The four C's that make up this strategy are:

Connecting. Establishing a rapport with the other party by (a) addressing the issue between you openly and candidly and (b) asserting yourself.
Clarifying. Seeking to understand by (a) active listening and (b) exploring all points of view.
Confirming. Researching mutual agreement as to what each party wants and needs and establishing your willingness to collaborate.
Contracting. Negotiating agreements for future interaction.

While carrying out this conflict-resolution strategy, use many of the well-known conflict-management techniques, such as assessing your style and your colleagues' methods of dealing with conflict, active listening skills, and assertiveness skills.


Overview Reader Feedback Table of Contents Book Highlights Book Reviews About the Author Placing an Order To Schedule a Presentation or Workshop	When Goliaths Clash: Book Highlights Using Conflict Management Skills The vice president of marketing for North America wants to introduce new packaging for a pharmaceutical product. Making the change worldwide would result in large savings and make it easier to sell his idea to upper management, but his counterpart in Europe isn't buying in. The head of finance has developed a new format for monthly reports, which he wants all departments to follow. "No way," says the sales director. "I prefer the old format." Two executives share the services of an administrative assistant, and each wants 75 percent of the person's time. Too bad she doesn't have a twin. In each of these situations, two people have needs that are in opposition, and each is determined to prevail. This is a powder keg waiting to be ignited, and defusing it will require the full range of conflict-management skills. There are four options that are available for dealing with conflict: Play the victim. Say nothing, act powerless, and complain. Leave. Physically remove oneself from involvement. Change oneself. Move off one's position, shift one's view of the other party, or let it go. Confront. Address the issue openly, candidly, and objectively; communicate with the other party. Option one is never viable. Playing the victim generally exacerbates a situation by sweeping conflict under the carpet. It causes hard feelings and delays the inevitable. The second option is often unavailable. Besides, conflict is inevitable, and you need to learn methods for dealing with it. Changing yourself is fine, but don't count on being able to do it. The question is: What price are you willing to pay? This leaves confronting as the most effective way to resolve issues without igniting thermonuclear war. We recommend using an overall strategy for confronting, which we call The Four C's Approach. The Four C's for Confronting The four C's that make up this strategy are: Connecting. Establishing a rapport with the other party by (a) addressing the issue between you openly and candidly and (b) asserting yourself. Clarifying. Seeking to understand by (a) active listening and (b) exploring all points of view. Confirming. Researching mutual agreement as to what each party wants and needs and establishing your willingness to collaborate. Contracting. Negotiating agreements for future interaction. While carrying out this conflict-resolution strategy, use many of the well-known conflict-management techniques, such as assessing your style and your colleagues' methods of dealing with conflict, active listening skills, and assertiveness skills. Testing Your Conflict-Management I.Q. It's About Strategy, Stupid. The Dysfunctional Vs. High-Performance Teams: Study in Contrasts. Becoming a High Performance Organization. Using Conflict Management Skills E-Conflict: The New Battleground Conflict Management as a Leadership Sport
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