Resolving Conflict in Family Business
The University of Connecticut
by Peter A. & Susan R. Glaser, Ph.D.
Being in a family business can be both joyful and agonizing. How is it that the people we care for the most can become the recipients of the very worst we have to offer? We usually have the best of intentions when we talk to our spouse or a family member about a challengingbusiness issue. So how is it that our good intentions are misunderstood?
Every message we communicate occurs on two levels simultaneously. One level (the onewhich we tend to be most aware of) we call the content level. This is the information component. The other more subtle and powerful part of the message is the relationship level ofmeaning. Anger and conflict are usually caused by the subliminal relationship messages. More…