Jerry Cooper

The Point of Convergence Jerry Cooper

Most of us know resolving conflict is hard to do, and all of us can provide several reasons why difficult. Each day, leaders, managers, and employees face any number of problems in the workplace. Even the most experienced are comfortable dealing with conflict. Almost everyone struggles to successfully resolve conflict because of the obstacles created by myths, general perceptions, and the ever-present conventional wisdom. In nearly every company, disputes go unresolved because people are uncertain about how to proceed and are afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing. This book looks at those traditional perceptions about conflict resolution, reviews the myths that hide many of the causes of conflict, and offers a way of thinking about and studying conflicts impacting your life, your company, or organization. It provides a path or roadmap, steps that are necessary to advance the understanding of what is needed to achieve better conflict resolution outcomes now and, in the future, Traveling this path is based on understanding what I call the Point of Convergence, which is the gap between expectation and execution created by decisions made in the upper levels of the chain of command. Understanding these points of convergence inside these gaps is key to crafting solutions to harmful conflicts without disrupting positive conflict that ultimately drives creativity and innovation. Within the pages of this book is a path that will help people in a business environment identify potentially harmful conflict early, organize a response to mitigate or prevent these conflicts from disrupting or damaging relationships and programs that can threaten a company's reputation. Successful leaders know the importance of asking questions. The higher one is in an organization, the more critical this skill becomes. This book guides the reader through a process that creates a greater opportunity for success in resolving workplace conflic