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Francesco, a past marketing insights colleague and now good friend, told me about the first time he met me…
“You were brand new to the company and really young.” (I had over 5 years of experience… so I wasn’t that young. But I’ve always looked young).
“The R&D VP told me to give you the data I ran from my test to analyze. MY test. I thought – who is this girl, coming in not knowing the brand, and looking to find something I didn’t. I had over 10 more years of experience!
So part of me was frustrated. But another part was curious… would you find anything?
And you know what? You found something. The data analysis you put together told a different story. It gave us additional understanding that saved us from making a big mistake.”
The reason I found something different… was because I had a different experience. I came from a technical and R&D background. Francesco came from marketing. We literally thought differently, looked for different markers, and connected different dots.
But this scenario could have gone another way. Francesco could have refused to acknowledge my analysis. He could have continued to fight me.
He didn’t. Instead, he was interested to learn what I did, once he realized it was different. He was curious and open-minded.
Our initial clash… ended up being what was needed to create a strong and lasting partnership, because of Franscesco’s leadership. And I’ll be forever grateful!
“Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.”
It’s experiences like these that have taught me:
Conflict is not a bad thing.
In conflict, you don’t have to:
– Argue
– Butt heads
– Get defensive
– Feel stressed
– Be right
– Insist
Conflict is an opportunity to learn something new.
Conflict is a signal for growth.
Instead, if you meet conflict with:
– Humbleness
– Imagination
– Openness
– Curiosity
– Respect
– Interest
You’ll likely find yourself in a better place than where you started.
“Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.”
Ronald Reagan
40th president of the United States
