Baby, I’m sorry I hurt your feelings when I called you stupid and childish. I’m sorry, but I thought you already knew…ooop!
This is how it usually starts, #conflicts.
It’s more of what someone said, so silence can be golden, it’s a sleep that nourishes the soul. I have a special friends who hates it when we fight and I just walk away and not return her calls. Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, so retiring to our good old cave for solace can be stereotypical. To me, my concept is, when you have nothing to say, say nothing plus silence could be a very loud way of saying “I’m tired of explaining to people who don’t care to understand” . Sometimes I’m wrong.
Conflicts can be deep if not managed well. In the words of Chinua Achebe, “Things Fall Apart” then friends become foes. The deadliest wars are fought by former insiders. The worst kind of enemies come from people who were once friends.
Whether life or business, in a place of more than one, there will always be incompatibility of goals, the dictionary calls this conflict. As you become more successful, those around you and their masks starts to fall off, people become more diplomatic, and everything becomes more political. As a CEO, understand the following.
1.Business is a subtle war. And a war has a series of battles. Choose your battles careful, learn to lose some battles so you can win the war.
2. In the words of Aristotle, “it is the mark of a superior mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it”. Also, practice empathy in the face of conflicts and arguments. I read once that whenever the Wright Bothers (inventors of the airplane) argued, the usually switched sides to see the other person’s view.. #Empathy.
3. Conceal your intention. Spending all your time in announcing revenge is like drinking a cup of poison and expecting the enemy to die. When angry, know you’re angry (self awareness) but maintain your inner peace, you’d need it to strike!
As cliche as it may sound, but when angry, learn to count one to ten before you respond. Learn to walk away for a while. Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer for sometimes, silence is that sleep that nourishes wisdom.
4. Be positive. Don’t let the outer noise (CH) drown your inner voice (PT). Positive Thinking (PT) & Challenges (CH) are like Water & Acid. In high school chemistry, we are taught that if you pour water (PositiveThinking) into an acid (CHallenges) you’ll have an explosion! but if you pour acid (CHallenges) into water (PositiveThinking, PT) you’ll have a solution.
So what are you, an acid or a solution?
Written By Eizu Uwaoma,
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About Eizu Uwaoma
Eizu Uwaoma is the founder & lead strategist of Hexavia, a business, brand, training & management consulting firm. Through his weekly features nationwide on radio, he connects with more than 5 million professionals, personally interacting with over 500 top executives & has intervened in over 50 businesses. He has a proficient gift, skill and experience in enterprise development. He is an authority in brand, human capital and business training as well as project consultancy.
He runs the Decoded, a monthly hangout for professionals in all major Nigerian cities facilitates at the Hexavian Masterclass and is the founder of the Hexavian Business Club.