A disagreement is inevitable if more than one person works on something long enough. This is especially true if their tasks are as complex and vital as running and owning a business. You and your co-owners probably got together because you have different skill sets and viewpoints, so you complement each other. Don’t let a resolvable problem pull you apart.
Here are some ideas from the Harvard Business Review.
- Disagreements are Inevitable
Your disagreement may be necessary to achieve innovation. If everyone thinks the same way, your business may not adapt to changing situations or find new ways to grow. Disagreements don’t mean you and your partner are doing something wrong. It’s part of the journey and a sign that your new business honeymoon is over. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re headed towards a business divorce. If solved productively, disagreements should strengthen your business and bring your team closer together. - Data, Not Emotions, Should Drive Choices
You should resolve disagreements based on facts.
Given the different options you have, what does the data say? What does it say about your products or services and how they compete in the market? What facts do you have about how you’re running the company? Where are the opportunities for improvement and increased profitability?
If you don’t have the data you need for a fact-based decision, perhaps you should postpone one until you do. Decisions based on hunches or fears, not facts, are gambles. Why roll the dice with your business when you can hedge your bet based on data supporting one option over the other?
- Be Honest and Speak with Compassion
Honest conversations lacking compassion or considering other viewpoints are a recipe for an eventual end to a relationship. No one likes being lectured to. Speak truthfully but in a way that won’t alienate your business partners. This should be about solving or preventing problems. You “win” a disagreement with a choice that improves your business, not when you impose your will on your partner.
- Disagreeing Partners Should Learn from Each Other
A study by the authors of an article found that people dealing with conflicts do better when they’re willing to learn. The study involved parties who disagreed on an issue. Some participants were told their conversation partner wanted to persuade them, while others were told the other person wanted to learn from them. Most participants preferred talking to someone willing to learn from them.
Another study also involved two people who disagreed on an issue engaging in a conversation. If a party believes the other person wants to learn from them, they’re more likely to view them as objective, moral, likable, intelligent, and trustworthy. Beliefs about a partner’s perceived desire to learn from them were the most critical predictor of conflict outcomes.
To get the best response, you should have a good faith willingness to learn and directly express that fact to your partner. For this approach to work in the long run, you need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. If you repeatedly say you want to learn but refuse to do so and try to bulldoze your way to an agreement, you’ll be seen as an untrustworthy hypocrite, someone no one will want to own a business with.
If All Else Fails…
If these approaches don’t work, you could use an outside mediator to help you resolve your differences. You could hire a business consultant specializing in the area of disagreement to get an outside, professional opinion. They may side with you, or your partner, or come up with a course of action neither of you thought about.
If these efforts aren’t enough to end the disagreement, one partner may buy out the other’s ownership interest while the other leaves the company. A partnership dispute lawyer can help you if you decide this is the best choice for your business. The total “nuclear option” of going to court to break up the company is the last resort, and it may do so much damage that the conflict will mortally wound your company.
Thank you to Focus Law LA for the above blog.