Tim Scudder of Personal Strengths, a solution provider at the marcus evans Corporate Learning & Talent Development Summit 2012, on how better interpersonal conflict management can improve an organization. Interview with: Tim Scudder, Chief Executive Officer, Personal Strengths

1. Business Success
through Better
Conflict Management
What business problems does some principals that we can take
managing interpersonal conflict forward into future conflicts. We
solve? create experiences that simulate
conflict and bring up elements that
Interpersonal conflict is viewed as would let people better manage their
unpleasant and to be avoided, but actual issues. It is important to
there is a real business advantage to advance the conceptual and real-
better managing it. The number one world application tracks together, to
reason why people leave is because get a solid understanding of the
of their relationship with their principals and some practice in
supervisor. Turnover can cost 150 per applying them.
cent of the person’s salary, including
the cost of rehiring, retraining, and Better conflict management fits into
Interview with: Tim Scudder, lost opportunities. However, it is not two buckets: doing things differently,
Chief Executive Officer, Personal just about reducing unwanted based on potential or actual conflict
Strengths employee turnover. There are also situations, and seeing things
legal and HR costs, health care and differently, whether there might be a
absenteeism, and damage to the positive intention behind the
“Interpersonal conflicts cost company’s reputation and customer perceived attack. This can prevent as
organizations a lot of money,” says relationships. much conflict as doing things
Tim Scudder, Chief Executive Officer, differently can. Leaders must clarify
Personal Strengths. What is your definition of their leadership philosophy, and
conflict? explore their attitudes and
“Studies show that people in the US perceptions, and how all this
spend an average of three hours a The most common definition of influences their decisions and
week dealing with interpersonal conflict is: disagreements, arguments behaviors.
conflict, resulting in a total cost of and fights. Many people define
USD 359 billion in wasted time. Chief conflict as opposing ideas and goals,
Learning Officers (CLOs) must but these can be negotiated without
consider the cost of conflict to their conflict. Conflict is when a person
organization and what it could do with feels a threat or a personal attack to
its share of the money,” he adds. their sense of self-worth. The
experience of conflict is deeply There is a real
personal. Some people say we should
business
From a solution provider company at
the upcoming marcus evans take the emotion out of conflict - to
Corporate Learning & Talent be purely rational - when in fact it is
Development Summit 2012, in
Braselton, Georgia, April 22-24,
Scudder is a Master Class presenter
biologically impossible to reason
without emotion. It is important to
recognize the elements of opposition
advantage
at the event. He recently released a
new book, “Have a Nice Conflict”, an
and conflict in an issue, and deal with
them through different methods. to better
engaging, credible, and practical story
that shows how to more effectively
manage interpersonal conflict. Here
How can conflict management
skills be taught to developing
managing
conflict
Scudder talks about leadership leaders?
development, how conflict affects
leaders, and how they can turn it into There must be a structured way to
a source of productivity. look back at past conflicts and deduce

2. About the Corporate Learning & Talent Development Summit
The HR Network - marcus evans
2012
Summits group delivers peer-to-
This unique forum will take place at the Château Élan Winery & Resort, Braselton,
peer information on strategic
Georgia, April 22-24, 2012. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or
matters, professional trends and
trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders
breakthrough innovations.
and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit
includes presentations on multi-dimensional ways in delivering business results, e-
learning and succession planning.
www.cltdsummit.com
Please note that the Summit is a
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About Personal Strengths
Personal Strengths is dedicated to improving organizational results through the productive transformation of working relationships.
The company offers products in over 20 languages to support training and development efforts, and offers a broad range of
services including: in-house training programs, consultation, curriculum design, and SDI (Strength Deployment Inventory)
Certification courses.
www.PersonalStrengths.com
About marcus evans Summits
marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss
strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to
individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-on-one business meetings.
For more information, please visit: www.marcusevans.com
Upcoming Events
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To view the web version of this interview, please click here: www.cltdsummit.com/Tim_Scudder