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Milkshake in the Boardroom Zachary Aldwin
Drama hit my house this weekend. I got home on Friday night to discover that one of my cats had cut his paw open on an unknown object and was leaking sanguineous bodily fluid (aka blood) all over my kitchen floor.
One mad dash to the vet later, a couple of stitches, an antibiotic, and a suitable bill found my feline companion back home; this was when the real drama started. You see to stop a cat pulling their stitches out after surgery it is not uncommon for vets to place the cat in a funnel shaped collar to stop them reaching the offending part.

My cat ended up in said collar which has the effect of transforming him into what looks like a mobile trumpet. My other two cats took one look at him and took off like, well, like a scalded cat. They will not even come into the house for fear of this perceived mini-monstrosity.

Disunity has descended on my abode in the form of a feline fracas that is disturbing not only my sleep, but probably that of anyone in a five kilometre radius.

Such is the power of discord. Fortunately when the collar comes off my cats will get back together and I will resume a normal sleeping pattern.

We can laugh at my kitty situation because it is one that it worthy of a certain amount of mirth, but we can all relate to a situation of disunity that is far more serious and damaging.

Think of the family chaos that ensues when two members have a falling out. We are not just talking about a sibling spat here, think of the sort of incident where you cannot invite Uncle Bill and Auntie Jane to the same function cause there will be fireworks.

Discord and disunity disrupt families, and they can disrupt your business. The core of disunity is a fractured relationship.
Deep down we desire human connection, violating that connection hurts so much that often, long after the event, the fear of being hurt again prevents us seeking reconciliation. Not only that, but the voices telling us to ‘get even’ or ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’ cloud our judgement and force us to persist in a cycle of mutual destruction. By why would unity even matter?

Why would mending a broken relationship concern us at all? In a dog-eat-dog world it is one less person to care about or feel no moral obligation to. In their book ‘Resilience; Why Things Bounce Back’ Andrew Zolli and Ann Marie Healy link community unity to the ability for a sector of society to survive a devastating event.

There is something about the spirit of a society driving to a common goal that allows them to withstand hardship that would cause others to falter. Consider the resilience shown by Londoners during the Blitz of World War II; here it was the common thread of ‘I survived’ that bound them together and, rather than break the spirit of a nation, emboldened them to take on the might of Nazi Germany. In a business relationship you need to ensure unity before you even start.

Discord at the beginning of a business will amplify as time goes on. Pressure magnifies; and, even if the business is doing well, the pressure of managing a larger, multimillion-dollar organisation will turn the cracks you experienced at start-up to escalate into massive sinkholes in your relationship. Fix those cracks early or you are better off abandoning the whole endeavour. Team unity in an organisation should propel it forward faster than one that is disorganised.

“Agendas, egos, politics, power struggles, negativity, energy vampires, poor leadership, mismanagement, complaining, and a lack of vision, focus and purpose all prevent a team from uniting and performing at their highest level.” says Jon Gordon, author of The Energy Bus.

In a high energy environment where emotions can reach extremes there is a high chance that someone’s toes will get trodden on sooner or later. Keeping relationships from falling apart can become a key role of management. No one wants a situation where Arthur in finance delays Sophie’s requisitions from IT because he doesn’t like the way she ignores him at the coffee bar. We are human; to expect a utopian business where no one ever clashes with another person and we all dwell together in perfect harmony is the stuff of pipe dreams and bad Country and Western songs.

To move beyond grievances and work towards healing the rift in a relationship takes courage, time and effort. Prevention is obviously best; being sensitive to what may annoy another colleague while at the same time they work on their own faults.

There are no “peace pills” you can pop to make everything alright, but fences can be mended over time. More often than not it is going to take dose of humble pie, an apology, a change in behaviour, perhaps some backing down, but in the long run it is worth it.