I had the good fortune today to spend some time with other business owners who are clients, members, and friends of the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC). We represented a range of business services and products, from various areas around Connecticut. Everyone was dedicated to business success and to overcoming obstacles that come along in the course of building and running a business. Some business challenges were shared by all of us, some were not. As I listened to others share their stories of setbacks overcome and life lessons learned, I was struck by a common thread. Try as we might, we cannot create more than 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week, which means we need to use our energy wisely.
Conflict saps energy — from individuals, families, and businesses. Energy spent on denying or suppressing the conflict, on backstabbing, or on direct confrontation isn’t available for strategic planning or quick reactions to new opportunities. Some of conflict’s costs may be difficult to quantify, but their impact is undeniable. The presence of conflict in businesses and in families dealing with the transfer of wealth may seem beyond our control. The way we deal with conflict, however, is not. We can choose to address and resolve conflict in order to minimize energy lost to it and then put that energy to better, more productive use.
