The Calculations

After the often arduous task of knowing yourself and knowing your opponent, and before entering into the conflict, you must analyze the conflict. Situation, resources, capabilities, motivations, all must be taken into account to determine the likelihood of success and the most efficient way to achieve goals.

Conflict in the self poses challenges that require great care in understanding as much of the conflict as possible. Knowing yourself and the nature of the opponent is critical to success. Knowing yourself is one of the most difficult paths a person will ever walk. Even as you are learning about yourself you are changing. Keeping up with those changes and choosing who you want to be at every particular moment can be very absorbing. One must try to keep the main Goal always in sight: respect for life. The specific goals you are achieving can then be realized. The bad habit or perhaps the inability to focus on studying can be approached and converted to more effective living.

Conflict with the environment is challenging because often, since you are in the midst of the conflict and trying to adapt, you do not see the conflict but the side effects. Poor health, depression, stress, etc. are indicators that something or things in the environment are preventing you from achieving harmony in your life. Only through knowing yourself can you understand what harmony is to you. Then this knowledge can be applied to determine what is upsetting your personal balance. Examples of environmental conflicts that can cause imbalance are: a teacher that teaches poorly or seems to have a personal agenda that does not include the students he/she is responsible for, or a stifling job environment. These can be overcome by applying leadership skills in changing the situation to the benefit of all.

Conflict with another is usually easy to perceive. The calculations usually point to compromise that allows and facilitates growth. Success in resolving non-negotiable conflict with another usually results in permanent change in the relationship. The resolution should be inclusive of the goals of both.

Conflict among leaders or organizations is all too often viewed from the perspective of beating or vanquishing the opponent. Only unskilled leaders work out their conflicts on the battlefield. The skilled leader rarely allows the conflict to progress to the courtroom or the battlefield. Skilled leaders achieve their goals through positioning well in advance of a confrontation, thereby avoiding the waste of resources that confrontation requires. This is where analyzing the conflict is so important. The goals of each opponent must be clearly understood so that the resolution answers both needs. Only in this way can a leader create a lasting triumph that is embraced by both sides. Conflicts in the Middle East provide an example of some of the most challenging conflicts. Where religion and tradition inform leaders instead of respect for life, the leader is unwilling to know his opponent sufficiently to create a lasting resolution through compromise and change. There can be no triumph (harmony) when leaders refuse change. Living things are flexible, and change and adapt. Old and dying things are stiff and unyielding: forces around them tend to break them, while the young and flowing simply bend and move with the change.

The next post will address the Five Fundamentals of Strategy, which will bring us to our focus: the Four Leadership Skills. These are the skills that we use every situation to develop . Before learning and using these Skills, you must be on a path of knowing yourself, and acquiring the ability to evaluate your situation and the nature of the conflict.