by Jane Beddall on July 31, 2009
Last week’s state-wide conference for women business owners brought together more than 100 Connecticut women business owners. Full marks go to the Connecticut Permanent Commission on the Status of Women for all of the leg work and to the National Association of Women Business Owners for the funding.
I had the pleasure of co-presenting a workshop on “Smooth Business Transitions” with dynamic attorney (and business owner) Diana Bartolotta. Diana is based on Main Street in Middletown as principal attorney at her law firm, B-law, LLC.
We had an engaged group of women in our workshop who had questions, suggestions, and insights that complemented our presentation and reflected the wisdom of the group.
by Jane Beddall on July 27, 2009
On July 28, 2009, I will be making a presentation to the New Haven, Connecticut Rotary Club. The title of the talk is “Ten Tips to Managing Conflict.” The talk will be an interactive presentation about some practical tips regarding conflict. I look forward to joining the group of speakers who have addressed the group on a wide variety of subjects.
The talk’s title reflects the idea that conflict is something to manage: sometimes to prevent, sometimes to reduce, and sometimes to resolve. Although conflict resolution is a phrase more commonly heard than conflict prevention or conflict reduction, some conflict is an inevitable part of human interaction. The trick is to minimize how damaging conflict can be by preventing when possible, reducing its impact as much as feasible, and resolving conflict as effectively as possible.
by Jane Beddall on July 20, 2009
On Friday, July 24, 2009, I will be co-presenting a workshop on “Smooth Business Transitions” at a conference for Connecticut women business owners. The conference, “Transition Your Business Through Challenge”, is sponsored by the State of Connecticut Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) and the National Association of Women Business Owners.
My role is raising some questions about planning ahead for your business and its structure for the time that you are ready to (or must) make a change in ownership. Other workshops will cover smaller transitions, such as partnering with another business, expanding your understanding of Quickbooks, expansion through access to capital, etc. The PCSW website has more info: http://www.cga.ct.gov/PCSW/
Planning ahead for business transitions, especially in family businesses, is essential to minimize potential conflicts.
by Jane Beddall on July 14, 2009
The Hartford Business Journal recently ran an article titled “Financial Cloud Pushing Nonprofits to Merge.” In the article, reporter Gregory Seay explored the pressure on Connecticut nonprofits to merge as a possible solution to financial stress as donations and government funding decline in the face of rising needs. Experts caution that merging operations won’t necessarily cut overall costs, and may even increase costs in the short run.
From the conflict management perspective, it’s clear that the potential for damage to donor bases, employee morale, volunteer enthusiasm, and effective delivery of services is great when two organizations merge.
Clear and open communication can prevent some conflicts altogether and reduce the impact of those that do develop.