Now, our blog log indicates that this is the 100th blog since commencement. While the number 100 might not be great for some reasons, I think it is good evidence that we are making headway. I also think that fewer but qualitative blogs mean a lot more than all kinds of daily bits and pieces posted on the internet in the name of blogging. I’m already receiving very positive feedback so we will continue working to build on the foundation that we have laid.
Let me quickly shoot a blog now, belatedly for last week. Today our topic is on disagreements.
Operating a business sometimes brings with it disagreements. While some of these may be trivial, hence not requiring very serious thinking and solutions to diffuse, others could be very serious and could even threaten the entire future of the business. I believe your objective in business is not to hit and run, but rather manage the business for the long term so that you can get the most from it. You might even be planning to leave that business to your beneficiaries to continue operating. This means that you need to properly manage business disagreements in the interest of your investment. These disagreements could originate from various parties that relate to your business, such as workers, suppliers, customers, regulatory authorities etc.
The tips below, which are very useful in managing disagreements, were documented by a gentleman by the names Dale Carnegie in his book entitled ‘How to win friends and influence people’. Though he did not give this advice specifically for businesses or entrepreneurs, I think I find his approach very useful in entrepreneurship and this is why I decided to share it with you. The approach needs patience, a good attitude and also respect for whoever you are disagreeing with. I know some entrepreneurs are bad tempered and use many unprintable words when annoyed during disagreements. You have got to cool down my dear Entrepreneur! When you lose your temper someone will pick it up.
So, the key tips are highlighted below, but with the additional explanations being my words: –
OK! I guess I have written enough for today. I need to get running to something else now. I believe that you have got some good tips for managing business disagreements. So, next time such a situation arises, reflect on the above points and make the best use of them. Who knows, you could become an expert in managing disagreements, or in negotiation. The above are also negotiation tips by the way, and you could add them to previous tips I gave about negotiation. You may impress your opponent so much that he might co-opt you into his team when negotiating another vital contract with another difficult third party. Won’t that be great?
Till then,
The Wise Entrepreneur