A large part of being a successful business owner is knowing how to make deals and facilitate conflict when it arises.
When in a dispute over a deal or an agreement that has been made, the potential costs are endless. The potential cost of litigation, the potential cost of loss of reputation, the potential cost of the energetic drain from the conflict.
What do you need to know about conflict to mitigate these costs?
First and foremost, remember that costly conflict most often arises because the agreement process was not properly handled to begin with.
The ideal time to surface conflicts is in the beginning of a relationship by creating clear boundaries and expectations, using the agreement process.
The best agreement process will support both parties to share the parts of themselves they may typically hide while making an agreement, while at the same time, asking the hard questions they may not ask.
It’s often difficult to see the things we are hiding when making agreements, or to ask the challenging questions, and that’s why it’s so helpful to have a trusted advisor support you each time you are entering into an agreement with anyone, whether it be a new team member, a business partner, or a strategic partner.
When the agreement process is used to create each of your agreements, and before you ever finalize a deal of any type, the number of expensive business disputes you will have will be greatly diminished, if not eliminated completely.
But what happens if there is a conflict?
In Part 2, we will cover what to do once a conflict has happened. Look for that next week.
No one wants to end up in a dispute. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to reduce your chances of conflict in the future. To start, find a trusted legal professional who will help you put protective measures in place to avoid the most common mistakes businesses make. That’s why a lawyer is there to help you face the challenges of owning a business.
We help small business owners negotiate settlements and channel their time and energy toward growth and potential instead of putting out fires. We’ll begin by sitting down to discuss how you can implement a robust legal, insurance, financial and tax system that will streamline your business operations and minimize your risk of encountering contract disputes.
This article is a service of Kundani& Chang LLP. We are an award-winning law firm that specializes in business and estate planning for clients like you. The goal for every family is to stay educated on all topics like this, avoid probate, avoid estate taxes, and build a legacy for you and your loved ones. What sets our firm apart is that we build lasting, lifelong relationships with our clients. They rely on us to keep them updated, provide sound legal counsel, and be there for them immediately if any problems should ever arise. The best part is we don’t charge hourly fees to our families, so you never have to worry about speaking to us. If you’re ready to keep your family out of Court, contact us today to schedule an initial consultation or visit our website at www.bridgelawllp.com.