I don’t know whether you watched Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares last night but there was certainly a lot of conflict involved!

Within the programme you had two ego’s, Gordon’s and the Restaurant owner - neither of them wanted to give in.

They were arguing about the food, the decor, the way Gordon spoke to the owner - you name it.

It got so heated that at one stage Gordon walked off and out of the restaurant! I thought that was it!

After sometime later, when both parties had cooled off they got back together to sort out their differences in a neutral spot - at one of the owners rival restaurants!

Here are some lessons from that:

LESSON 1 - WALK AWAY

If you are in a moment of disagreement or want to write that scathing email, walk away. Walk away and think about it. When you come back to your task/person you will most likely be thinking more rationally rather than being all het up!

LESSON 2 - FIND A NEUTRAL SPOT

Get away from the environment that you were in and meet the person you were having conflict with at a neutral venue. Meet over coffee etc. This diffuses the situation.

LESSON 3 - THINK WIN WIN

You have your opinion, they have theirs. Try to come to a win win outcome.

LESSON 4 - GET THE RIGHT DECISION

Would you rather be proved right than get the right decision for all concerned? Some people are like this. Don’t try to be right, make sure you get the right decision is made! Whether you are right or them!

In closing…

Take time out to reflect with managing conflict. A lot is often said that is often regretted later!

Live, love and laugh

Sean Mc