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By Posted on Posted in communication skills, Conflict resolution, Debate, Kim Barnes, leadership, Uncategorized No Comments Tagged with , ,

In situations involving more than one person, some conflict is inevitable, whether expressed or not. In families, friendship groups, personal or professional partnerships, teams, and more complex organizations there are conflicting needs, vested interests, goals, and preferences. In some venues these conflicts are feared, suppressed, and avoided. In others, they are welcomed and can lead to innovation and positive change. As a leader, your attitude toward conflict will guide those who follow you to treat it as an opportunity to be explored or a disturbance to be ignored, if possible.

There are many approaches to dealing with conflict[1]. By culture, training, and experience, there are usually some that we prefer over others. Not all approaches are equally effective. Below is a list of some common options for dealing with conflict and their descriptions…

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By Posted on Posted in Barnes & Conti, communication skills, Influence, Uncategorized No Comments Tagged with , , ,

Georgie, Barnes & Conti’s canine mascot of nearly 11 years, peacefully left the world last month after a brief but serious illness. We first introduced Georgie to our Barnes & Conti extended family in our 2012 Holiday Newsletter. At the time, we said: “Georgie began accompanying Barnes & Conti Finance Manager, Heller Rathbone, to the office about a year ago. Since that time Georgie has been brightening our office and lightening our mood on countless occasions.”

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By Posted on Posted in Communication, communication skills, Constructive Debate, Difficult Skills, Uncategorized No Comments Tagged with ,

By B. Kim Barnes Reprinted from LinkedIn, June 10, 2019 Research in neuroscience and behavioral economics tells us that it is very difficult–if not impossible–to change someone’s mind, once they have committed to an opinion or point of view. We …

An Approach to Rational Conversation in Divisive Times Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Communication, Constructive Debate, managing bias, Uncategorized No Comments Tagged with , , , ,

By B. Kim Barnes, Barnes & Conti CEO, and Nelson Soken, Ph.D, Barnes & Conti Chief Innovation Officer
Reprinted from  LinkedIn, June 1, 2016. We are sharing it in this update because unconscious bias is especially relevant to us today.

There are many variations of the following quote, first attributed to Bernard Baruch. “You have the right to your own opinion, but you don’t have the right to your own facts.” The reality is, though, that there are enough facts for people to pick and choose the ones that support their preferred conclusion.

We like to think of ourselves as a rational species – but recent evidence from behavioral science research suggests otherwise. We tend to seek information that supports our views and disregard facts that are counter to our belief systems. This is known as the confirmation bias, and explains why people with conservative political views watch and read conservative media sources and liberals watch and read liberal sources. We hold fast to ideas…

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