I found myself in the middle of a series of emails back and forth with a business colleague (I hate that word) who I have a really great relationship with.
There was some confusion about an issue and we clearly had a different interpretation of the ‘facts‘ and as result our explanatory emails to each other were not helping!
What I was saying to him was clarifying nothing and vice versa and as a result a little tension and frustration had crept into our communications.
You could see an edge creeping into the tone and the language both of us were using…. this was heading to a bad place. It would have taken very little at this stage to drag the tone lower and raise the tension and before you know it we both would have our swords and shields out ready to do ferocious battle.
In the blink of an eye a great and very productive and enjoyable relationship could be ruined forever.
Both of us thankfully avoided the awful trap and we picked up the phone recognising that an actual conversation was the best way to sort out the issue.
Step back, take a deep breath and make a decision to be a friend and not a foe… It’s s much better place to be.
Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion PR, Marketing and Graphic Design, with offices in Dublin and Cork
Tags: Cork, Dublin, Fuzion PR, Graphic Design, Greg Canty, ireland, Marketing
Greg Canty Fuzion Blog 
January 18, 2016 at 6:09 pm |
Great post Greg, have the same situation at the moment. Aired on clarification and collaboration rather than drawing swords. You could win the battle but loose the war in those sort of situations.
January 19, 2016 at 10:02 am |
Great analogy Kieran ..the problem is you rarely win in a battle or a war!