Dealing with an accident, injury or problem is a conflict, when you allow yourself to create one.

This article has some great ideas on dealing with conflicts and avoiding them. 

We have adopted an attitude in the US that anytime someone is injured there is a conflict. If you disagree with this statement why do customers get sent to customer service and injured or upset customers get sent to risk management?

That whole approach is wrong, but for many people that course is set in stone. If you can’t deal with every customer, mad, injured, happy, healthy, or with a broken part of bike equally, at least learn how not to create greater problems.

In the article, No Batteries Required: 8 Conflict Resolution Tips the author refers to a book Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate, Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro. The book looks at dealing with the emotions involved in conflicts.

1. Appreciation: Do you feel heard, understood and valued for your point of view?
2. Affiliation: Are you treated as an adversary and kept at a distance, or are you treated as a colleague?
3. Autonomy: Do you have the freedom to make a decision without feeling that someone else is telling you what to do?
4. Status: Do you feel treated with respect, or do you feel diminished?

5. Role: Do you have a fulfilling or meaningful role in your conflict situations or negotiations?

Why are these issues important? Because 80 to 90% of the time, the person on the other side of the conflict is dealing with emotion, not with dollars and sense. We’ve been trained to see any conflict as dollars. However, that is a very rare situation until after we have escalated the conflict to that level or refused to deal with the problems and given the grieved person no other choice.

The article then points out 8 things to do in a conflict situation.

1. Become aware of your role in escalating or de-escalating the conflict
2. Know your conflict resolution style
3. Help people see the logic behind your argument
4. Don’t withhold a necessary apology
5. Let go of your need to always be right
6. Don’t lose sight of the higher purpose
7. Don’t lecture
8. Leave some things unsaid

So what does this mean to you?

It means you can use these ideas to help you stop complaints and maybe stop lawsuits.

I’ve been “talking” and writing about number 4 for decades. Don’t be afraid to apologize. It is a difficult thing to do, but that is what we were trained to do, and consequently, that is what we are trained to expect. Remember the person on the other side of the conflict has emotional issues usually. If you deal with the emotions, you can eliminate many of the monetary issues or at least get them down to a reasonable number.
And saying your sorry does not mean you are liable.

Learn these tips and maybe your corporate life will be better as the article and book suggest, more importantly when dealing with your customers you may resolve more problems and create less lawsuits.

Copyright 2011 Recreation Law (720) Edit Law, Recreation.Law@Gmail.com

Twitter: RecreationLaw
Facebook: Rec.Law.Now
Facebook Page: Outdoor Recreation & Adventure Travel Law
Blog: www.recreation-law.com

Mobile Site: http://m.recreation-law.com

Keywords: #recreationlaw, #@recreationlaw, #cycling.law #fitness.law, #ski.law, #outside.law, #recreation.law, #recreation-law.com, #outdoor law, #recreation law, #outdoor recreation law, #adventure travel law, #law, #travel law, #Jim Moss, #James H. Moss, #attorney at law, #tourism, #adventure tourism, #rec-law, #rec-law blog, #recreation law, #recreation law blog, #risk management, #Human Powered, #human powered recreation,# cycling law, #bicycling law, #fitness law, #recreation-law.com, #backpacking, #hiking, #Mountaineering, #ice climbing, #rock climbing, #ropes course, #challenge course, #summer camp, #camps, #youth camps, #skiing, #ski areas, #negligence, #conflict, #resolution, #apologize,

Technorati Tags: accident,injury,article,attitude,statement,customers,customer,management,bike,Batteries,Conflict,Resolution,Tips,author,Beyond,Reason,Emotions,Negotiate,Roger,Fisher,Daniel,Shapiro,Appreciation,Affiliation,adversary,colleague,Autonomy,freedom,decision,Status,Role,situations,negotiations,person,emotion,dollars,situation,Become,Help,logic,argument,apology,purpose,Leave,complaints,lawsuits,decades,Remember,Learn,life,Recreation,Edit,Gmail,Twitter,RecreationLaw,Facebook,Page,Outdoor,Adventure,Travel,Blog,Mobile,Site,Keywords,Moss,James,attorney,tourism,Human,youth,areas,negligence

Windows Live Tags: accident,injury,article,attitude,statement,customers,customer,management,bike,Batteries,Conflict,Resolution,Tips,author,Beyond,Reason,Emotions,Negotiate,Roger,Fisher,Daniel,Shapiro,Appreciation,Affiliation,adversary,colleague,Autonomy,freedom,decision,Status,Role,situations,negotiations,person,emotion,dollars,situation,Become,Help,logic,argument,apology,purpose,Leave,complaints,lawsuits,decades,Remember,Learn,life,Recreation,Edit,Gmail,Twitter,RecreationLaw,Facebook,Page,Outdoor,Adventure,Travel,Blog,Mobile,Site,Keywords,Moss,James,attorney,tourism,Human,youth,areas,negligence


WordPress Tags: accident,injury,article,attitude,statement,customers,customer,management,bike,Batteries,Conflict,Resolution,Tips,author,Beyond,Reason,Emotions,Negotiate,Roger,Fisher,Daniel,Shapiro,Appreciation,Affiliation,adversary,colleague,Autonomy,freedom,decision,Status,Role,situations,negotiations,person,emotion,dollars,situation,Become,Help,logic,argument,apology,purpose,Leave,complaints,lawsuits,decades,Remember,Learn,life,Recreation,Edit,Gmail,Twitter,RecreationLaw,Facebook,Page,Outdoor,Adventure,Travel,Blog,Mobile,Site,Keywords,Moss,James,attorney,tourism,Human,youth,areas,negligence